August 15, 1986
The President today announced his intention to nominate James Daniel Phillips, of Kansas, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Counselor, as Ambassador to the Republic of Burundi. He succeeds James R. Bullington.
Prior to entering the Foreign Service in 1961, Mr. Phillips was a teaching assistant at Cornell University. Upon entering the Foreign Service, he was assigned as a personnel officer and to training. In 1963 - 1965 he was sent to Paris, France, as Third Secretary and staff aide to the Ambassador. From there he went to our consulate in Lubumbasi, Zaire, as a counsel and then to Kinshasa, Zaire, as Second Secretary and political officer. Mr. Phillips returned to the Department in 1968 - 1971 to serve in the Bureau of European Affairs. In 1971 he became First Secretary and political officer at the Embassy in Paris. From there, in 1975 - 1978, he served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Luxembourg. In 1978 he went to Banjul, The Gambia, and served as Charge d'Affaires until 1980, when be became a student at the National War College for a year. From 1981 to 1984, Mr. Phillips was Office Director for UNESCO Affairs in the Department, and since 1984 has been counsel general in Casablanca, Morocco.
He graduated from the University of Wichita (B.A., 1957; M.A., 1958) and the University of Austria (certificate, 1957). Mr. Phillips is married and has five children. He was born February 23, 1933, in Peoria, IL.