A Conversation with Ambassador Gordon Giffin

Written by: Cameron Geer

Program Intern, World Affairs Council of Atlanta
Student, Georgia State University
Published: 12/19/2018

Being an Atlanta native, I’m no stranger to the hustle and bustle of the downtown city life. For those unfamiliar with the terrain, it can be even harder to navigate the landscape when it is pouring buckets, the wind hitting your face, and it's absolutely freezing. So, the well heated interior of the SunTrust building housing Dentons law firm was a warm welcome. The 53 story ascension in the elevator allowed me some time to get my thoughts together before my interview with Ambassador Gordon Giffin.

A quick Google search will give you a glimpse of Ambassador Giffin’s impressive resume. He grew up in Canada for 17 years and moved to the United States to attend Duke University and later Emory Law School.  From 1975-1979, he was Legislative Director and Chief Counsel to U.S. Senator Sam Nunn in Washington, DC.  Truthfully, I was nervous. Unnecessarily so I soon found out. The ambassador immediately showed himself to be a kind man willing to share his professional knowledge. Less than a minute into the interview, I was teaching the ambassador to the internal search engine on his iPhone a useful feature he was previously unaware of.

Ambassador Gordon Giffin serves as the Global Vice Chair of Dentons. His practice is focused on international transactions and trade matters, government procurement, energy regulatory and policy matters, corporate governance and crisis counseling, federal and state regulatory matters and public policy. However, our conversation mainly focused on his career prior to Dentons as U.S. ambassador. As a Global Studies major with an interest in International Affairs being an ambassador was a position I considered working towards. Listening to someone who has done what I wish to do was an opportunity I did not want to miss.

With his childhood spent in Canada, studying French and Canadian history, and later spending his adult years in the Unites States, Ambassador Giffin’s life seemed tailored for a future position as an ambassador to Canada. However, his ambitions were not aimed in that direction at all. In fact, it wasn’t until after a brief trip to Canada with former President Bill Clinton had he ever seriously considered the position. On July 1, 1997 he was nominated by former President Clinton and confirmed on July 31. As Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, he managed U.S. interests in the world's largest bi-lateral trading relationship in the context of the North American Free Trade Agreement, as well as U.S. collaboration with Canada on global issues.

Ambassador Gordon Giffin agrees that hard work and persistence were necessary for his success. But he also attributes part of his accomplishments to a little luck. Through his professional relationship with former Senator Sam Nunn he was able to meet other high-profile individuals who helped project him forward in his careers.   

Through his experiences the importance of staying informed on global issues was something Ambassador Gordon Giffin valued. Living in a world where what’s happening within and outside of our borders influences how we interact with each other, for better or worse. In order to make informed decisions on an individual, local, national, and international level it is important to have accurate and current information. Working for a decentralized international law firm, the largest in the world, the importance of global awareness can’t be taken lightly. Although it is something, we all can benefit from ourselves as global citizens.

Ambassador Giffin’s passing advice: Pursue your ambitions and don’t let anyone talk you out of it.