Chuck Colson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Director of the Office of Public Liaison | |
| In office July 9, 1970 – March 10, 1973 | |
| President | Richard Nixon |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | William Baroody |
| White House Counsel | |
| In office November 6, 1969 – July 9, 1970 | |
| President | Richard Nixon |
| Preceded by | John Ehrlichman |
| Succeeded by | John Dean |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Charles Wendell Colson October 16, 1931 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | April 21, 2012 (aged 80) Falls Church, Virginia, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouses | Nancy Billings
(m. 1953; div. 1964)Patricia Hughes (m. 1964) |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Brown University (BA) George Washington University (JD) |
| This article is part of a series on |
| Conservatism in the United States |
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Charles Wendell Colson (October 16, 1931 – April 21, 2012), generally referred to as Chuck Colson, was an American attorney and political advisor who served as Special Counsel to President Richard Nixon from 1969 to 1970. Once known as President Nixon's "hatchet man", Colson gained notoriety at the height of the Watergate scandal, for being named as one of the Watergate Seven and also for pleading guilty to obstruction of justice for attempting to defame Pentagon Papers defendant Daniel Ellsberg.[1] In 1974, Colson served seven months in the federal Maxwell Prison in Alabama, as the first member of the Nixon administration to be incarcerated for Watergate-related charges.[2]
Colson became an evangelical Christian in 1973. His mid-life religious conversion sparked a radical life change that led to the founding of his non-profit ministry Prison Fellowship and, three years later, Prison Fellowship International, to a focus on Christian worldview teaching and training around the world. Colson was also a public speaker and the author of more than 30 books.[3] He was the founder and chairman of The Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview, which is a research, study, and networking center for growing in a Christian worldview, and which produces Colson's daily radio commentary, BreakPoint, heard on more than 1,400 outlets across the United States currently presented by John Stonestreet.[4][5]
Colson was a principal signer of the 1994 Evangelicals and Catholics Together ecumenical document signed by leading Evangelical Protestants and Roman Catholic leaders in the United States.
Colson received 15 honorary doctorates and in 1993 was awarded the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion, the world's largest annual award (over US$1 million) in the field of religion, given to a person who "has made an exceptional contribution to affirming life's spiritual dimension". He donated the prize to further the work of Prison Fellowship, as he did all his speaking fees and royalties. In 2008, he was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by President George W. Bush.
- ^ A Gallery of the Guilty. Time. January 13, 1975.
- ^ "About Chuck Colson". Archived from the original on November 1, 2009. Retrieved November 25, 2009.
- ^ "Chuck Colson Bio". Archived from the original on February 3, 2012. Retrieved April 18, 2012.
- ^ "The Chuck Colson Center". Archived from the original on April 18, 2012. Retrieved April 18, 2012.
- ^ "Colson Center Fact Sheet". Archived from the original on April 26, 2012. Retrieved April 18, 2012.