The White House, President George W. Bush Click to print this document

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 4, 2002

Nominations
President Bush to Nominate Eight Individuals to Serve in His Administration

President George W. Bush today announced his intention to nominate eight individuals to serve in his administration.

The President intends to nominate Richard L. Baltimore to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Sultanate of Oman. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, he has served as Principal Officer in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. From 1996 to 1999, he was Deputy Chief of Mission in San Jose, and he was Deputy Chief of Mission in Budapest from 1990 to 1994. Mr. Baltimore's previous overseas assignments include service as Political Officer in Budapest, Cairo and Pretoria. His service at the State Department has included time as Director of the Office of Regional Affairs in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs and Special Assistant in the Office of the Secretary. Mr. Baltimore is a graduate of George Washington University and Harvard University Law School.

The President intends to nominate Gail Dennise Thomas Mathieu to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Niger. A career Foreign Service Officer, she is currently the Deputy Chief of Mission in Accra, Ghana. From 1997 to 1999, she was the Director of the Office of West African Affairs, and from 1995 to 1997, she was Deputy Director of Pacific Island Affairs. From 1991 to 1995, Mathieu was the U.S. Observer to UNESCO. Her past overseas experience includes service in Geneva, Jeddah, Paris, Port of Spain and Santo Domingo. She is a graduate of Antioch College and Rutgers University.

The President intends to nominate Donald C. Johnson to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Cape Verde. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, he has served as the Senior Advisor to the Director of the Foreign Services Institute and as Senior Advisor to the Director General of the Foreign Service since February 2000. His most recent overseas assignment was in the Irish peace process where he was one of the three members of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning. Prior to his service in Ireland, he was Head of Mission for the international peacekeeping mission in Moldova sent by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. From 1993 to 1996, Johnson was United States Ambassador to Mongolia. His past overseas assignments include service in Moscow, Taipei, Beijing, Madrid and Tegucigalpa, and he has served as a Desk Officer at the State Department and the National Security Council. Johnson received a bachelor's degree and law degree from Lewis and Clark College, a Master's in Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma, and a Master's of Law degree from George Washington University.

The President intends to nominate Jimmy Kolker to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Uganda. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, he is presently the Ambassador to Burkina Faso. From 1996 to 1999, Kolker was Deputy Chief of Mission in Copenhagen. His previous overseas assignments include service as Deputy Chief of Mission in Gaborone, Political Officer in London and Political Officer in Stockholm. His assignments at the State Department include service as Senior Advisor in the Office of the Under Secretary for Management. Kolker received a bachelor's degree from Carleton College and a Master's degree in Public Administration from Harvard University.

The President intends to nominate Martin G. Brennan to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Zambia. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Brennan is currently the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Uganda. His past overseas assignments have included service in Rwanda, Burkina Faso, Taiwan, Portugal, Thailand, Ethiopia, and Uganda. His assignments in Washington have included service as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of African Affairs, and he served on detail to the World Affairs Council of Northern California as Director of Programs. Brennan earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California at Berkeley and a Master's degree from the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies.

The President intends to nominate Vicki Huddleston to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Mali. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, she has been the Principal Office of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana since 1999. Prior to her service assignment in Cuba, she was Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of African Affair, and from 1995 to 1997; Huddleston was the Ambassador to Madagascar. Her past overseas experience includes service in Port-au-Prince, Bamakao, and Freetown. Her experience at the Department of State includes service as the first Deputy Director and then Director of the Office of Cuban Affairs. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado and a Master's degree from John's Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies.

The President intends to nominate Paul William Speltz to be United States Director of the Asian Development Bank with the rank of Ambassador. Most recently, Mr. Speltz was Managing Director of Bluestone Capital Singapore. From 1998 to 1999, he was Senior Director of Asia Pacific Operations for United Technologies Corporation and Senior Advisor to the President of UTC International. From 1981 to 1998, he was the Chairman and CEO of ATC International, an Asian based marketing and consulting company. Speltz earned a bachelor's degree and Master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Connecticut.

The President intends to nominate Carolyn W. Merritt to be Chairperson and Member of the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board for a five-year term. Merritt was most recently the Senior Vice President for Environment, Health and Safety of IMC Global, Inc., in Northbrook, Illinois. In 1994, she was a Senior Project Manager with RMT/Jones and Neuse, Inc., and environmental consulting firm in Houston, Texas. From 1988 to 1994, Merritt was with Champion International Corporation, first as the Manager of Solid and Hazardous Waste and them as Manager of Environment Health and Safety. She is a graduate of Radford University.

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