Former La Jollan Expected to Be Named Envoy to Spain

Former La Jolla resident Richard G. Capen Jr. is expected to be nominated as U.S. ambassador to Spain in time to assume the post before the start of the Summer Olympics in Barcelona, relatives said Wednesday.

Capen, 57, was vice chairman and director of Knight-Ridder Co. until December, and was publisher of the Miami Herald from 1983 to 1989. Previously, he was senior vice president and director of San Diego-based Copley Newspapers.

Capen, a La Jolla resident for 29 years, was chairman of the Greater San Diego Chamber of Commerce in 1978 and was active in several civic groups.

In a phone interview from his hotel room in Honolulu, Capen said Wednesday that he is “honored by the opportunity to serve my country.” He said he was told by White House officials that the nomination will be announced within a few weeks.

Capen, who lives in Miami but hopes to move back to the San Diego area, described 1992 as “the year of Spain,” citing the Olympics, the country’s quincentennial celebration, the World’s Fair in Seville, the formation of a European community economy and the implementation of a new U.S.-Spain treaty as hallmark events in Spain’s modern history.

Capen said he developed a “modest knowledge of the language” while living in Miami and while starting a Spanish-language edition of the Herald, El Nuevo Herald, in 1987.

Announcement of his appointment is awaiting a security check, financial disclosure review and confirmation by the Senate, White House officials said.