Submitted by Elizabeth Reinhart
(October 10, 2026) — Essex Library is honored to host Gordon Giffin, the United States Ambassador to Canada under the Clinton Administration, for its second annual Fulford History Lecture. His talk, “American Diplomacy, the Canada/U.S. Relationship And Why It Matters,” will take place on November 14, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. in The Cube at Centerbrook Architects.
Giffin, born in Massachusetts, moved in 1950 to Montreal, Canada at the age of three months. Ultimately graduating from High School in Toronto, in 1967 he returned south to obtain a BA at Duke University and a JD at Emory University School of Law. After graduation he moved to Washington D.C. in January 1975 to become Chief Counsel and Legislative Director to U.S. Senator Sam Nunn.
He served as outside General Counsel to the 1988 and 1992 Democratic National Conventions. In 1992 Giffin became Chair of the Clinton presidential campaign in Georgia and its southeastern coordinator. Following the election, he declined opportunities to move back to Washington to join the Administration to continue to grow his law practice. In 1996 he served as Chair of the Site Selection Committee and Vice Chair for the Democratic National Convention and Chair of the Southern Region Campaign. Following the election, in June 1997 he was nominated by President Clinton as U.S. Ambassador to Canada and was confirmed by the Senate on July 31, 1997. After being sworn in by Vice President Al Gore, he assumed his post in Ottawa in September and served until May 2001.
This lecture is free and open to the public. Registration is requested. For more information or to register please call the Essex Library at 860-767-1560 or visit the Events Calendar at https://www.youressexlibrary.org.
Founded in 1889, the Essex Library is a nonprofit public library dedicated to providing free and equal access to information, ideas and education to enrich the lives of all members of the community. www.youressexlibrary.org.
