Governor Richard Celeste is an American diplomat who was the 64th Governor of Ohio from 1983 to 1991. He also served as the US Ambassador to India from 1997–2001. The Governor was also the Director of the Peace Corps and the President of Colorado College

1. You grew up in Ohio and then went on to graduate from Yale University with honors, followed by the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to attend Oxford. Please tell me about your Early childhood and Education.

I grew up in a very quiet, middle-class suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. I was planning to go to a small college called the College of Wooster, where my parents met and I had a full scholarship too. But I had an opportunity to go to Yale. I had to work for part of my scholarship at Yale, but that was fine. Every summer, I would come back from college and I did interesting jobs for 2 summers, I dug sewers and for the other 2 summers I carried trash. I competed for a Rhodes Scholarship when I graduated from college in 1959 and failed. So, I competed the second time and got selected and attended Oxford.

2. How and when did you realize that Politics was the path for you?

I was interested in politics even in college. In 1958, I testified against the Draft on behalf of the Methodist Student Movement. A woman expressed surprise that a college student was doing this and encouraged me to meet her husband, who was a member of Congress, and her son who was a student at Yale. Her name was Dorothy Bowles, Her husband Chester Bowles, and her son Sam Bowles. So, I became a good friend of Sam’s. In 1960, I worked on the Kennedy campaign. In Oxford, I became involved in the campaign against nuclear disarmament and got arrested for the first time.

3. What was your first job with the US government?

I came back to the States and got a call from a friend, Sam Bowles’ sister, who was working at the Peace Corps and she said, “Come down and interview for a job. We need bodies,” I felt I needed to work, I needed to support a family. I had a child coming. I found out that the insurance policy for Peace Corps staff did not treat pregnancy as a pre-existing condition. Months later, Chester Bowles, asked me if I would join him in India as his personal assistant. He was my best teacher and encouraged me to think about politics as a career. So, every time we had a visitor I was their control officer such as Vice President Humphrey and Richard Nixon. Bowles even wrote me a cheque before I left for home. He said, “This is the first contribution to your political campaign.” Later when I first ran for office, I called him to tell him I was running for State Representative and he said, “Well, I hope you put my money to good use, in the campaign,” and I said, “To be honest with you, I used it as a down payment on a house.”

4. You were the Director of the Peace Corps from 1979 to 1981. A program that assists countries with achieving development goals. What was your role as the Director of the Peace Corps?

At the time, the Peace Corps that time was tucked away in an agency called Action, undertaken by President Nixon, who wanted to strangle the Peace Corps. One of the first things that I had to do was to restructure the Peace Corps and bring independent budgeting. This involved negotiations with the President of the United States. I was successful at doing that. Then there was a problem with morale. So, I traveled to 26 countries in 2 years and spent much of that time sleeping on the ground at Peace Corps in villages. where Peace Corps volunteers were working.

5. You were a two-time Governor of Ohio, from 1983–1991. Bringing in much-needed reforms in a traditional swing state. Could you describe some of your actions and accomplishments as Governor?

When I took office in 1983, Ohio had a deficit of half a billion dollars, under our Constitution, we could not incur deficits. I had to introduce an emergency budget, to cut spending and increase taxes. Our unemployment rate was 14% and last for job creation. We invested in a program that mobilized new technology and small businesses. We created the Thomas Edison program, encouraging science. We help traditional industries modernize and undertook a major highway construction campaign. We reformed the delivery of mental health services across the state. There were a number of things that were major achievements.

6. In 1997, President Clinton appointed you as the United States Ambassador to India. What excited you about this opportunity?

In 1997, I wrote a letter to President Clinton on wanting to become an Ambassador. I came in in November 1997 to lay the groundwork for the Clinton trip to India. The Clinton team was very upset that Prime Minister Vajpayee was testing nuclear weapons. I stayed to try to repair the damage done.

7. You and your wife Jacquline made the US embassy in Delhi a center for art and culture. What are some of the memorable events?

We had all kinds of events. We brought a number of artists to New Delhi. We had 2–3 fashion shows for Indian charities. The biggest event was the visit of President Clinton, in March 2000. It was the first Presidential visit to India in 25 years

8. What was your life like as the US Ambassador to India, What were your day-to-day assignments?

 Ambassadors are like the last vestige of feudalism. In his Embassy, is like a King. Everybody serves him. An Embassy like New Delhi was very large. We housed the FBI and CDC. We created a mission statement and put it on a little card and gave it to all employees. I visited every state and met the CM, who I could relate to as Governor. Ambassadors would also report back to Washington DC.

9. You were the President of Colorado College from 2002, How did your career in Politics help you in this role of leading a prestigious Liberal Arts College?

 It helped in so many ways that I had not anticipated. When I arrived on campus, the political science professors had planned a discussion on “September 11th- One Year Later”. They had invited a woman named Haran Ashwari who was a spokesperson for the Palestinian leadership. The Jewish community in Colorado Spring and Jewish alumni were very upset. I had been promoting freedom of speech as a politician and Ambassador. Now as a President of a college, I’m not going to shut speech down. The day before the event The police department wanted to know where to put the SWAT team?” So even when I became President of a college, I went around to every department on the campus and it was the first time when the President had come to their department to sit and listen.

10. You have championed the setting up of the first Olympic and Paralympic museum in the United States. What propelled you to do so?

Colorado Springs is the headquarter of the US Olympic Committee. It houses the largest Olympic training center in the US and produces the most athletes. It struck me that there was nothing in this community, that goes anywhere in the United States. I talked to the mayor about the lack of a museum anywhere and how I thought it would be appropriate here.

11. If you were to advise the Biden Administration, What are three things you would like them to do internationally?

I think the first is to restore the working relationship with our allies. I think it’s really important to take seriously the conditions that are causing the refugee crisis. The only real answer to this is the climate issue. We need to address economic inequity and promote growth around the world as well.

12. Is there space in the Democratic Party for Progressivists and Leftist Politicians such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders?

I think AOC and Bernie have exercised substantial voice in the work of the democratic majority. AOC has been surprised and pleased by Biden because he’s done more than they expected. I do think over time the country is moving in a more progressive direction. We are becoming more racially diverse. The question is whether Biden and the Democrats can build a stronger majority in both.

13. What has been the highlight of your illustrious career?

I think the job I’ve enjoyed the most is being Governor of Ohio. It gave me the opportunity to make a real difference in people’s lives. I guess the next biggest joy for me is my kids.