Lunch & Luncheon Speaker

The Honorable David H. Wilkins
U.S. Ambassador to Canada
Ottawa, Canada

David H. Wilkins was nominated by President George W. Bush to become the United States Ambassador to Canada on April 27, 2005 and was confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate on May 26, 2005. On June 29, 2005 he became the 21st United States Ambassador to Canada.

Since his arrival in Canada, Ambassador Wilkins has worked extensively with various US and Canadian officials, seeking resolution on high-profile files including softwood lumber, BSE (mad cow) and the Western Hemisphere (Passport) Travel Initiative. He has traveled extensively throughout Canada, visiting every province and territory, and has tirelessly encouraged visits to Canada from high-profile Americans such as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Treasury Secretary John Snow, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, as well as numerous White House officials, senators and congressmen. Ambassador Wilkins was actively involved in the SPP meetings in Cancun in the spring of 2006 between Prime Minister Harper and President Bush, as well as the second meeting between the two leaders when President Bush hosted the Prime Minister at the White House later that summer.

Wilkins was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1980 and served there for 25 years. He quickly rose through the ranks in the House of Representatives, serving six years as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and two years as speaker pro tem before being elected speaker, a position he held for 11 years. He was the first Republican elected speaker of any legislative body in the South since the 1880s and retired as one of the longest serving speakers in the country.

In his 25 years in the Legislature, David Wilkins was on the cutting-edge of most major reform legislation including South Carolina’s historic ethics bill and the Education Accountability Act. Wilkins played a key role in the relocation of the Confederate flag from the State Capitol Building and led the fight to ban video gambling.

Throughout his distinguished career, Wilkins has received numerous awards including the 2004 Excellence in State Legislative Leadership Award from the National Conference of State Legislatures. He has been named Outstanding Legislator of the Year by a wide range of organizations and was also named the National Republican Legislator of the Year.

A strong supporter of President George W. Bush, Wilkins served as state chairman of the Bush–Cheney ’04 campaign and as co-chair of the campaign in 2000. He was appointed by the President to the Board of Visitors to the United States Academy at West Point in 2002.

A native of Greenville, South Carolina, David Wilkins graduated from Greenville High School and received his undergraduate degree from Clemson University and his law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law. After service in the Army, he returned to Greenville where he practiced law for more than 30 years.

David and his wife of 35 years, Susan, have two sons – James and Robert. James is teaching at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina where he resides with his wife, Marnie. Robert is an attorney practicing law in Greenville where he also resides with his wife, Stephanie. The Wilkins are members of Greenville’s First Baptist Church.