Argyros Adjusting to the Busy Life of an Ambassador

As they move from laid-back Southern California to the precise royal protocol of Madrid’s Plaza Mayor, George Argyros and his wife are learning that an ambassador’s life requires certain trade-offs.

Now that he is the U.S. ambassador to Spain, he has had to give up his 6 a.m. runs around Balboa Island.

Gone too are those unaccompanied drives to work from his bay-front house on exclusive Harbor Island. Home is now a four-bedroom suite on the second floor of the ambassador’s residence adjacent to the U.S. Embassy, where Argyros walks to work through a tunnel.

Instead of yachts bobbing outside the front door, there are tanks--two of them. And Argyros is accompanied by a security contingent whenever he leaves the grounds.

Judie Argyros has had to make an even more dramatic adjustment: She changed her name.

Argyros’ wife of 39 years has always gone by Judie. But in November, a language teacher noted during preparation for the couple’s move to Spain that Spanish speakers pronounce the J as an H.

That would mean that “Judie” would become, phonetically, “Hoo-dee-ay.”

“That didn’t sound very diplomatic to me,” she said. “So I decided to go back to my birth name, Julianne, and go by Julia.”

George Argyros--dressed in tuxedo with tails and transported by horse-drawn carriage--presented his credentials Dec. 12 to King Juan Carlos during a ceremony with no visitors allowed.

Then it was back to Orange County for the holidays before officially moving into the ambassador’s residence last month.

“I’ve never been so busy,” Argyros said. “It’s a full-time charge.”

His workday starts at 9 a.m. with courtesy calls by visiting dignitaries, government ministers and guests, with meetings scheduled every hour, according to aide Wendy Cantor, who moved from Orange County with the Argyroses. Three days a week, the Argyroses attend Spanish class.

The midday break starts at 2 p.m. for lunch; meetings continue through the late afternoon, followed by evening copitas, or receptions. Dinner events begin at 9:30 p.m. or later.

“He’s on California time and on Spanish time,” Cantor said.

But perhaps the one aspect of Spanish life that has taken the most adjusting to, Argyros said, is the daily siesta.

Even though some areas are slowly shedding the traditional three-hour midday break, most of Spain still operates from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., then from 5 to 9 p.m.

“You don’t eat until 11 o’clock at night,” he said. “It’s a real adjustment that Judie and I are going through.”

“We’ve tried to adjust our schedule so we can sleep, but so far it hasn’t worked,” Julia Argyros said.

Argyros, whose personal wealth is estimated at $1billion, is accustomed to a certain level of pomp and ceremony. The former owner of Air California and the Seattle Mariners baseball team, he had been chairman of the board of trustees of Chapman University in Orange since 1976 and chairman of the board of the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace. He stepped down from both posts after being confirmed for the ambassadorship by the U.S. Senate.

A longtime Republican activist, Argyros led a $30-million fund-raising campaign in California for President Bush’s 2000 election. As ambassador, Argyros oversees about 400 employees at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid and consulate in Barcelona. He is Bush’s representative to the Spanish king and to Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, who also is president this year of the European Union.

One of Argyros’ most active roles--and the most traditional--is that of chief cheerleader for improving trade relations with Spain, which has a trade deficit with the United States.

Argyros said he has been acquainting himself with trade issues and intervening when problems arise. Last month, he hosted a reception to introduce himself to 300 American CEOs in Spain. “I’ve gone to charm school for two weeks, but you don’t appreciate all that you get into until you get there,” he said. “It’s much different than anyone can imagine.”