Career
He was also the first Hispanic appointed as a United States. ambassador. Born in El Paso and educated as an accountant, Telles worked at the United States Department of Justice for eight years. He was drafted into the Army in 1941.
Telles then served in the United States. Army Air Force where he became Chief of the Lend-Lease Program for Central and South America.
Telles left the service with the rank of major. Telles was elected county clerk for El Paso County, Texas in 1948.
In 1951, Telles was recalled for the Korean War. He served as Executive Officer of the 67th Tactical and Reconnaissance Group, United States. Air Force.
Telles was elected in 1957 mayor of El Paso and ran unopposed for a second term (1959–1961).
He was appointed by President John F. Kennedy as Ambassador to Costa Rica. In 1967 President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Telles chairman of the United States.-Mexican Border Commission. In 1971, President Richard Nixon appointed him chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for the United States.
Telles died on March 8, 2013 in Sherman Oaks, California at the age of 97.
