Charles Colson

Chuck Colson
Director of the Office of Public Liaison
In office July 9, 1970 – March 10, 1973
President	Richard Nixon
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	William Baroody
White House Counsel
In office November 6, 1969 – July 9, 1970
President	Richard Nixon
Preceded by	John Ehrlichman
Succeeded by	John Dean
Personal details
Born	Charles Wendell Colson (1931-10-16)October 16, 1931 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	April 21, 2012(2012-04-21) (aged 80) Falls Church, Virginia, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouses	Nancy Billings ​ ​ (m. 1953; div. 1964)​ Patricia Hughes ​ (m. 1964)​
Children	3
Education	Brown University (BA) George Washington University (JD)

Charles Wendell Colson (October 16, 1931 – April 21, 2012), generally referred to as Chuck Colson, was an American attorney and political advisor who served as Special Counsel to President Richard Nixon from 1969 to 1970. Once known as President Nixon's "hatchet man", Colson gained notoriety at the height of the Watergate scandal, for being named as one of the Watergate Seven and also for pleading guilty to obstruction of justice for attempting to defame Pentagon Papers defendant Daniel Ellsberg.^[1] In 1974, Colson served seven months in the federal Maxwell Prison in Alabama, as the first member of the Nixon administration to be incarcerated for Watergate-related charges.^[2]

Colson became an evangelical Christian in 1973. His mid-life religious conversion sparked a radical life change that led to the founding of his non-profit ministry Prison Fellowship and, three years later, Prison Fellowship International, to a focus on Christian worldview teaching and training around the world. Colson was also a public speaker and the author of more than 30 books.^[3] He was the founder and chairman of The Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview, which is a research, study, and networking center for growing in a Christian worldview, and which produces Colson's daily radio commentary, BreakPoint, heard on more than 1,400 outlets across the United States currently presented by John Stonestreet.^[4][5]

Colson was a principal signer of the 1994 Evangelicals and Catholics Together ecumenical document signed by leading Evangelical Protestants and Roman Catholic leaders in the United States.

Colson received 15 honorary doctorates and in 1993 was awarded the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion, the world's largest annual award (over US$1 million) in the field of religion, given to a person who "has made an exceptional contribution to affirming life's spiritual dimension". He donated the prize to further the work of Prison Fellowship, as he did all his speaking fees and royalties. In 2008, he was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by President George W. Bush.