For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 9, 2003

President Bush Announced His Intention to Nominate Noriega

President George W. Bush today announced his intention to nominate one individual to serve as a member of his administration:

The President intends to nominate Roger Francisco Noriega of Kansas, to be Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs. Ambassador Noriega is currently the Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the Organization of American States (OAS), a post he has held since August of 2001. Prior to his appointment as a member of the OAS, Ambassador Noriega served as a senior staff member for both the Committee on Foreign Relations of the U.S. Senate, and the Committee on International Relations of the U.S. House of Representatives. In addition, he served at USAID and the Bureaus for Inter-American Affairs and Public Affairs at the State Department. In December of 2001, the government of Peru decorated Ambassador Noriega as "Gran Master of the Order of the Sun" for his support for the democratic transition and promotion of human rights in the South American country. Ambassador Noriega is a graduate of Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas.

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