American businesswoman, author and diplomat (born 1966)
Callista Louise Gingrich
(nee
Bisek
;
[1]
March 4, 1966) is an American businesswoman, author, documentary film producer and former diplomat who served as
United States Ambassador to the Holy See
from 2017 to 2021. She is married to former
House Speaker
and
2012
Republican
presidential candidate
Newt Gingrich
.
[2]
Early life
[
edit
]
Callista Louise Bisek, known as "Cally Lou" to her family,
[3]
was born to Alphonse Emil Bisek and Bernita (Krause) Bisek, in
Whitehall, Wisconsin
.
[1]
Her father worked in a packing plant and her mother was a secretary.
[3]
She has Polish and Swiss ancestry.
[4]
[5]
[6]
She graduated as
valedictorian
from Whitehall Memorial High School in 1984.
[7]
A music student from childhood, Callista attended
Luther College
in
Decorah, Iowa
, majoring in music and becoming a member of
Pi Kappa Lambda
. She graduated
cum laude
in 1988.
[8]
Career
[
edit
]
In 1988, just out of college, Gingrich accepted an internship in
Washington, D.C.
, in the office of Republican Congressman
Steve Gunderson
.
[3]
At the end of the internship she joined Gunderson's congressional staff
[3]
where she worked until 1995. In 1995, she moved to the
House Committee on Agriculture
where she worked as chief clerk until 2007.
[3]
[9]
[10]
Multimedia productions
[
edit
]
After leaving the House Committee on Agriculture in 2007, Gingrich served as president of Gingrich Productions, a multimedia production company which she founded with her husband.
[11]
They produce historical and public policy documentary films, publish books and newsletters, and make speeches, television, and radio appearances.
[12]
Together, they hosted nine documentaries, including
The First American
,
Divine Mercy: The Canonization of John Paul II
,
A City Upon A Hill
,
America at Risk
,
Nine Days that Changed the World
,
Ronald Reagan
: Rendezvous with Destiny
,
Rediscovering God in America
,
Rediscovering God in America II: Our Heritage,
and
We Have the Power
.
[13]
The films have sold several thousand copies.
[11]
Gingrich authored seven children's books featuring Ellis the Elephant,
[3]
including
Sweet Land of Liberty
, about American exceptionalism, and
Land of the Pilgrims' Pride
, about colonial America. Both were on
The New York Times
Best Seller list of Children's Picture Books
.
[14]
[15]
Yankee Doodle Dandy
, about the American Revolution, was released in 2013.
[16]
From Sea to Shining Sea
, about the expedition of Lewis and Clark and the early years of the United States, was released in October 2014.
[17]
Christmas in America
, about the history of Christmas in the United States, was released in October 2015.
[18]
Hail to the Chief
, about United States presidents, was released in October 2016.
[19]
Remember the Ladies
, about United States first ladies, was released in October 2017.
[20]
Gingrich co-authored
Rediscovering God in America
with her husband, Newt Gingrich.
[21]
She also co-authored a
photobook
,
Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous with Destiny
, with Newt Gingrich and
Dave Bossie
.
[22]
Gingrich is the voice for several of her husband's audiobooks.
[9]
Ambassador
[
edit
]
President
Donald Trump
nominated Gingrich to be the
United States Ambassador to the Holy See
in May 2017, and the
United States Senate
confirmed the nomination on October 16, 2017.
[23]
[24]
On December 22, 2017, Gingrich presented her credentials to
Pope Francis
and officially assumed the duties of United States Ambassador to the Holy See.
[25]
She was the 11th U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See since formal relations were established in 1984 under President
Ronald Reagan
.
[26]
Gingrich assumed the role of Ambassador after several instances of high-profile criticism of Donald Trump and his policies by Pope Francis and his allies.
[27]
[28]
During her tenure, Gingrich focused on advancing areas of common ground between Washington and the Vatican,
[29]
including defending religious freedom
[30]
and combatting human trafficking.
[31]
In June 2018, Gingrich helped return a letter written by Christopher Columbus that had been stolen from the Vatican Archives.
[32]
She also highlighted the role of
women religious
on the frontlines of the
COVID-19 pandemic
and in conflict zones
[33]
and helped
Samaritan's Purse
bring an emergency field hospital, doctors and nurses to an area of northern Italy hit hard by COVID-19.
[29]
Awards and honors
[
edit
]
In February 2018, Gingrich was awarded an honorary doctorate from the
Ave Maria School of Law
.
[34]
In June 2020, Gingrich was appointed Dame Grand Cross of the
Order of Pius IX
by Pope Francis, the highest distinction conferred by the Holy See on laypersons, in recognition of her contributions to the Church and society.
[29]
And in 2023, she received a Luther College Distinguished Service Award for admirable service to society.
[35]
2012 Republican primaries
[
edit
]
As part of her husband's bid to become the Republican nominee in the
2012 presidential election
, Gingrich often appeared by his side at rallies. In early 2012, Gingrich began to take a more active role in the campaign, and undertook her first campaign speaking appearances without her husband.
[36]
On February 10, she appeared at the
Conservative Political Action Conference
, giving an introduction to her husband prior to his speech.
[37]
[38]
In addition, she supported his campaign through speaking appearances at Republican women's groups,
[39]
[40]
meetings of Gingrich supporters,
[41]
and various rallies.
[42]
Other activities
[
edit
]
Gingrich was a long-time member of the choir of the
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
in Washington, D.C., and plays
French horn
with the City of Fairfax Band in
Fairfax, Virginia
.
[43]
She serves as president of the Gingrich Foundation which, among other charitable contributions, established the Newt L. and Callista L. Gingrich Scholarship to benefit instrumental music majors at
Luther College
in Decorah, Iowa.
[44]
She also serves as a Member of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Board of Trustees, a Member of the Ave Maria School of Law Board of Governors, and a Member of the Richard Nixon Foundation Board of Directors.
[12]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Callista Bisek met Newt Gingrich in 1993 when he was
House
Minority Whip
and she was working in the office of Congressman
Steve Gunderson
.
[45]
Callista testified in 1999 as part of Gingrich's divorce proceedings that the couple began a six-year affair in 1993 while Newt was married to his second wife,
Marianne
.
[46]
[47]
Newt divorced Marianne in December 1999, and on August 18, 2000, Callista and Newt were married in a private ceremony in
Alexandria, Virginia
.
[2]
In 2002, Newt Gingrich asked the Catholic
Archdiocese of Atlanta
to
annul
his 19-year marriage to Marianne on the basis that she had been previously married.
[48]
Callista, a lifelong
Catholic
, was instrumental in her husband's conversion to that faith in 2009.
[49]
The Gingriches live in
McLean, Virginia
.
[3]
See also
[
edit
]
Conservatism portal
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Buffalo County Biographical History: Celebrating 150 Years, 1853?2003
from
Google Books
- ^
a
b
"National News Briefs; Gingrich Is Married in Alexandria Ceremony"
.
The New York Times
. August 20, 2000
. Retrieved
August 14,
2010
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Levy, Ariel (January 23, 2012).
"The Good Wife"
.
The New Yorker
. Retrieved
January 28,
2012
.
- ^
"Catholic Advocate | Newt's Catholicism"
. Archived from
the original
on October 29, 2013
. Retrieved
October 27,
2013
.
- ^
"A Look at 'Nine Days That Changed the World'
"
.
Fox News
. April 13, 2010.
- ^
Kaczynski, Andrew.
"Newt Gingrich's Communications Director Polished Callista's Wikipedia Page 23 Times"
.
BuzzFeed News
.
- ^
Whitehall Times
, May 16, 1984
- ^
"Certificates of Competency for Nominees to Be Chief of Mission"
.
United States Department of State
. May 2017. Archived from
the original
on June 6, 2017.
- ^
a
b
Mark Benjamin (November 24, 2011).
"With Newt Back in the Spotlight, Callista Gingrich Follows"
.
Time.com
. Retrieved
January 26,
2012
.
- ^
Callista Louise Gingrich, Congressional Staffer ? Salary Data
at
legistorm.com
. Retrieved February 7, 2012.
- ^
a
b
Kristina Cooke and Marcus Stern (December 7, 2011).
"Special report: Callista Gingrich ? The ultimate running mate"
.
Reuters
. Retrieved
December 12,
2012
.
- ^
a
b
"Ambassador Callista L. Gingrich"
.
- ^
"Callista Gingrich"
.
IMDb
. Retrieved
December 12,
2012
.
- ^
"Children's Picture Books - Best Sellers - Books - Oct. 30, 2011 - The New York Times"
.
The New York Times
– via NYTimes.com.
- ^
"Children's Picture Books - Best Sellers - Books - Dec. 2, 2012 - The New York Times"
.
The New York Times
– via NYTimes.com.
- ^
Nikki Schwab (October 15, 2013).
"Callista Gingrich's 'Ellis the Elephant' Turns 3"
.
U.S. News & World Report
. Retrieved
October 17,
2013
.
- ^
Judy Kurtz (October 15, 2014).
"Callista Gingrich: My kids' books aren't political"
.
The Hill
. Retrieved
October 23,
2014
.
- ^
Kemberlee Kaye (December 23, 2015).
"Callista Gingrich Chats With Us About Her New Book
Christmas in America
"
.
Legal Insurrection
.
- ^
"Newt, Callista Gingrich on 'Treason', 'Hail to the Chief'
"
.
FoxNews.com
. October 11, 2016.
- ^
Gingrich, Callista (2017).
Remember the Ladies
.
Regnery Publishing
.
ISBN
9781621574804
.
- ^
"Callista Gingrich to be nominated as ambassador to the vatican, White House says"
.
CBS News
. May 19, 2017.
- ^
"Newt Gingrich and Callista Gingrich honor the legacy of President Ronald Reagan with Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous with Destiny"
(Press release). PRWEB. February 3, 2011
. Retrieved
February 3,
2011
.
- ^
Gjelten, Tom (May 20, 2017).
"Callista Gingrich Nominated As Ambassador To The Vatican"
.
npr.org
.
NPR
. Retrieved
May 21,
2017
.
- ^
"Callista Gingrich Ambassador to Vatican nomination"
.
- ^
"Callista Gingrich Becomes Trump's Envoy As Differences Mount"
.
reuters.com
.
Reuters
. December 22, 2017.
- ^
"Callista Gingrich likely to be named ambassador to Vatican"
.
ABC News
. May 15, 2017.
- ^
"Donald Trump's Christianity questioned by Pope Francis"
.
BBC News
. February 18, 2016.
- ^
"Pope Francis' allies accuses US Catholics of forming an 'alliance of hate' to back Trump"
.
Independent
. August 3, 2017.
- ^
a
b
c
John L. Allen Jr. (January 16, 2021).
"As Callista Gingrich departs, she's the new "COAT" in US/Vatican ties"
.
Crux
.
- ^
"Gingrich: 'Securing' religious liberty top priority for U.S., Vatican"
.
The Dialog
. July 26, 2018.
- ^
"Vatican Ambassador Callista Gingrich Has Farewell Meeting with Pope Francis"
.
Independent
. January 16, 2021.
- ^
"The journey of a stolen Christopher Columbus letter recounting his voyage to the Americas"
.
Washington Post
. June 15, 2018.
- ^
"Women religious honored for work on pandemic's front lines"
.
Our Sunday Visitor
. June 23, 2020.
- ^
"Dean's Newsletter February 2018"
.
Ave Maria School of Law
. February 28, 2018.
Archived
from the original on December 20, 2021.
- ^
"Luther College announces 2023 Distinguished Service Award recipients"
.
Luther College
. October 9, 2023.
- ^
Callista Gingrich makes her debut as a solo campaigner
Archived
February 22, 2012, at the
Wayback Machine
Atlanta Journal Constitution
, February 15, 2012
- ^
CPAC: Callista Gingrich makes rare speaking appearance
CBS News
, February 10, 2012
- ^
Callista Gingrich talks up Newt at CPAC
The Washington Post
, February 11, 2012
- ^
Callista Gingrich tests herself in public speaking role
The Washington Post
, February 14, 2012
- ^
Newt Gingrich courts Tennessee voters
Politico
, February 27, 2012
- ^
Callista Gingrich Rallies Newt's Supporters
Patch.com
, February 18, 2012
- ^
At Everett rally, Newt Gingrich says his energy policies would push gas down to $2.50 a gallon
The Herald
(Everett, Washington), February 25, 2012
- ^
Katherine Boyle (December 15, 2011).
"Callista Gingrich brings attention to Basilica of the National Shrine choir"
.
Washington Post
. Archived from
the original
on July 22, 2013
. Retrieved
December 12,
2012
.
- ^
"Directory of Endowed Scholarships: Music"
.
Luther College
. 2012. Archived from
the original
on July 2, 2012
. Retrieved
January 1,
2012
.
- ^
Jones, Meg (March 11, 2012).
"Callista Gingrich still has ties to Whitehall"
Archived
March 3, 2016, at the
Wayback Machine
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
(m.jsonline.com). Retrieved March 16, 2012.
- ^
"Gingrich Friend Dates Affair To '93"
.
Chicago Tribune
. November 11, 1999
. Retrieved
July 12,
2011
.
- ^
Barron, James; David Rohde; Adam Nagourney (May 4, 2000).
"PUBLIC LIVES"
.
The New York Times
. p. 2
. Retrieved
January 31,
2012
.
- ^
"Newt Gingrich Requests Annulment in Atlanta"
.
The Free Lance-Star
. Associated Press. May 12, 2002. p. D4
. Retrieved
February 7,
2012
.
- ^
Sullivan, Amy (August 24, 2009).
"Why Newt Gingrich Converted to Catholicism"
.
Time
. Archived from
the original
on August 17, 2009
. Retrieved
October 10,
2010
.
External links
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]
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Political and
legislative career
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Selected books
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Related articles
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