For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 16, 2001

President Bush to Nominate Six Individuals to Serve in His Administration and Designate Two Individuals to Hold Positions within His Administration

President George W. Bush today announced his intention to nominate six individuals to serve in his administration and has designated two individuals to hold positions within his administration.

The President intends to nominate P.H. Johnson to be Federal Co-chairperson of the Delta Regional Authority.  He currently practices law with the firm of Johnson Bobo in Clarksdale, Mississippi.  Johnson was elected Mississippi State Auditor in 1988 for a four-year term and was then appointed by President George H. W. Bush as Mississippi's State Director of the Farmer's Home Administration.  He is a graduate of the University of Mississippi and the LSA School of Banking of the South as well as the Jackson School of Law.

The President intends to nominate Joseph M. DeThomas to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Estonia.  DeThomas is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service and has served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Nonproliferation.  He has previously served as Director of the Office of European Union and Regional Affairs, Director of Regional Nonproliferation Affairs in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs and twice served as Science Officer in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental Scientific Affairs.  He has held several posts abroad as well including Deputy Chief of Mission in Vienna and Addis Ababa and received a Department Superior Award in 1998.  Originally from Pennsylvania, he received both an undergraduate and Master's degree from Pennsylvania State University.

The President intends to nominate Theodore H. Kattouf to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Syrian Arab Republic.  A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, he has held the post of Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates since 1998.  He previously served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Saudi Arabia and in Syria. From 1988 to 1992 he was Deputy Director and then Director of the Office of Lebanon, Jordan and Syria Affairs and has served in a variety of other positions abroad.  Ambassador Kattouf is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University.

The President intends to nominate Maureen Quinn to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the States of Qatar.  Ms. Quinn is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service and has served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Rabat, Morocco, since 1998.  She has served in a variety of positions at the Department of State in Washington, D.C., including the Deputy Executive Secretary of the Department and as Executive Assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs.  Her previous overseas assignments include service as Economic Counselor in Panama, Economic Officer in Conakry, and Consular Officer and General Services Officer in Karachi.  A resident of New Jersey, she is a graduate of Tulane University and received a Master's degree from Georgetown University. The President intends to nominate Arlene Render to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire.  She presently serves as the Director of the Office of Southern African Affairs at the Department of State and served as Ambassador to Zambia from 1996 to 1999.  From 1993 to 1996, Ambassador Render was Director of the Office of Central African Affairs and was Ambassador to Gambia from 1990 to 1993.  She has also served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Accra and Brazzaville among other overseas assignments. She is a graduate of West Virginia State College and received a M.Ph. from the University of Michigan.

The President intends to nominate Marcelle Wahba to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the United Arab Emirates.  She has served since 1999 as the Public Affairs Officer in Cairo, and served as Public Affairs Officer in Amman, from 1995 to 1999 and in Nicosia, from1991 to 1995.  Over the past eight years, she has served as Acting Deputy Chief of Mission in Cyprus, Jordan and Cairo. From 1987 to 1988 she served as Deputy Policy Officer in the Near Eastern Affairs Bureau of the United States Information Agency.  A resident of Sacramento, California, she is a graduate of the Western College for Women in Oxford, Ohio.

The President has designated John E. Higgins to be Acting General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board.  He currently serves as Solicitor of the National Labor Relations Board and has served with the Board since 1964.  He is a graduate of Boston College, received a J.D. from Boston University Law School and a M.S. from Cornell University.

The President has designated Peter J. Hurtgen to be Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board.  He has served as a member of the National Labor Relations Board since 1997.  Before his nomination to the National Labor Relations Board, he was a Partner with the law firm of Morgan, Lewis and Bockius, LLP, in Miami, Florida.  Hurtgen is a graduate of Georgetown University and Georgetown University Law School.

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