8 Things To Know About Trump’s Pick As Ambassador To This Caribbean Country

Donald Trump’s first pick for ambassador to a Caribbean nation is Doug Manchester, a former donor.

By NAN Staff Writer

News Americas, WASHINGTON, D.C., Weds. May 17, 2017: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday named his first nominee for a Caribbean ambassador. Trump on Tuesday announced his intent to nominate Doug Manchester as Ambassador to the Caribbean island state of The Bahamas. If confirmed, Manchester will serve as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.   Here are 8 things you should know about Manchester:

1: The nominee was born Douglas Frederick “Doug” Manchester in Los Angeles, California but grew up in Coronado, California and the Pacific Beach neighborhood of San Diego. He attended La Jolla High School where he played football and then went on to San Diego State University. He graduated with a B.S. from college and then went into real estate, eventually becoming known for developing large, upscale projects.

2: Manchester, who prefers to be called “Papa Doug,” has built some of the tallest hotels and office buildings in San Diego, including the San Diego Marriott Marquis & Marina and the Manchester Grand Hyatt, and is credited as a driving force behind the development of the San Diego Convention Center. In addition, Manchester built the Torrey Executive Centre, Manchester Financial Building, Whitetail Lodge and Golf Club, and is currently building the Fairmont Austin hotel in Austin, Texas.

3: Since 1970, he has been Chairman of Manchester Financial Group, which has multiple divisions including Manchester Grand Resorts and M Commercial Properties.

4: In 2011, Manchester entered the business of publishing when he bought The San Diego Union-Tribune from Platinum Equity and stated his intention of using the newspaper to promote conservative causes.In 2012, he bought the North County Times and merged it and its subsidiary, The Californian, into the Union-Tribune. In November 2013, he bought eight local weeklies in the San Diego region, which continue to be published as separate papers. In 2015, Manchester sold The San Diego Union-Tribune to the Tribune Publishing Company.

5: The Caribbean ambassadorial pick leads the Manchester Charitable Foundation and currently serves on the Board of Trustees of The Sanford Burnham Medical Research Institute.

6: Manchester is “an outspoken supporter of conservative causes” and donates to Republican candidates at both the local and national level. Manchester was an early supporter of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, donating $50,000 to a Trump-aligned Super PAC in 2015.

7: In 2008 he donated $125,000 to support signature gathering for a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. When the amendment qualified for the ballot as California Proposition 8 he also donated to the campaign in favor of it. His prominent support for the initiative, which was narrowly approved by voters in November 2008 but was ultimately ruled unconstitutional, led to calls by gay-rights groups for a boycott of Manchester’s hotels.

8: Manchester was married to college sweetheart Elizabeth “Betsy” Manchester in 1965 and had six children and thirteen grandchildren. They filed for separation in 2009 and their divorce was finalized in 2013. He and Geniya Derzhavina, known by different first names: Evgeniya, Evegeniya, and Jenya were married in December 2013.