Ambassador Charles T. Manatt, 75, passed away on July 22 in Richmond. The California-born attorney served as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee in the early 1980s and as co-chairman of Bill Clinton's presidential campaign.

Obituaries have focused on Manatt’s political leadership, particularly in reviving the DNC in the early 1980s, but he is also remembered for his leadership as a visionary internationalist and a strong believer in democracy. As John Sullivan, Executive Director of the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE, a Chamber affiliate), explained in an appreciation on the Huffington Post:

Chuck joined with a group including Frank Fahrenkopf, the Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Ambassador Mike Samuels, the then Vice President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Lane Kirkland, the President of AFL-CIO, to support a new initiative that would help answer the challenges the United States was facing during the first wave of democratic transitions.

Chuck, Frank, Mike, and Lane worked closely together -- and with President Ronald Reagan and Congressman Dante Fascell (D-FL), the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee -- to craft the proposal to create the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), which was signed into law by President Reagan in December 1983.

Since that moment 28 years ago, Chuck's legacy continues to inspire change around the world.

Manatt went on to serve Vice Chair of the NED, as a board member of CIPE, and as Founding Chairman of CIPE’s sister institution the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs.

President Clinton appointed Manatt as U.S. ambassador to the Dominican Republic, where he served with distinction from 1999-2001. In that role, Manatt showed great leadership in fostering stronger commercial ties between the United States and the Dominican Republic. Bill Malamud, the longtime Executive Vice President of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in the Dominican Republic, writes:

In his brief tenure as Ambassador, Chuck Manatt had a tremendous and lasting impact on the Dominican Republic. He had an amazing capacity to meet, connect, and influence individuals from all walks of life: from the business and political elite to the most impoverished urban and agricultural communities.

He was also a man of great insight. I remember talking with him during a fishing trip off the north coast of the Dominican Republic in January of 2001, shortly before his departure. I asked him what he thought was the biggest challenge to the United States in the post-Cold War world, and his response was “terrorism by radicalized non-state actors.” And how to meet that challenge? “Prevent failed states, and give people a realistic hope that their lives can improve.”

As Ambassador, he launched a broad array of initiatives, that in retrospect are connected to that view of the world: contributing to an open and transparent elections in the Dominican Republic in 2000; working closely with our AmCham in moving forward an investment climate agenda with the goal of creating the conditions in which businesses could grow and prosper in the Dominican Republic; as a tireless promoter, bringing in investors from all over the world; he promoted and facilitated infrastructure projects, such as the Multi-modal Port of Caucedo, the Licey airport (enabling the agricultural interior of the country to export fresh produce direct to the United States), a Free Zone project on the border with Haiti; the promotion of corporate social responsibility (our Ambassadors Cup Golf Tournament, which raises funds for education projects, now in its 12th year, was his idea). The list goes on.

He had an incredible knack for getting people aligned to move forward an agenda that was “for the good of the order,” and to have fun while doing it. He made the Dominican Republic, and the world, a better place, and will be missed by all who knew him.

Charles Manatt, RIP.