March 14, 1986

The President announced today his intention to nominate Ronald Frank Lehman II for the rank of Ambassador during his tenure of service as United States Negotiator on Strategic Nuclear Arms. Dr. Lehman will succeed Ambassador John G. Tower in that position.

Since January 1985 Dr. Lehman has served as Deputy U.S. Negotiator for Strategic Arms with the personal rank of Ambassador while remaining as Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. On January 29, 1986, Dr. Lehman was appointed to be Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (Defense Policy).

Prior to joining the NSC staff, Dr. Lehman was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense responsible for nuclear forces and arms control policies and has served as a representative to the U.S.-U.S.S.R. bilateral discussions on nuclear proliferation. More recently, Dr. Lehman was a representative to the U.S.-Soviet talks on Direct Communication Links. Dr. Lehman has also served as a member of the professional staff of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Over the years, Ron Lehman's official responsibilities have involved him in significant international meetings and discussions, including arms negotiations in Geneva, Vienna, and Moscow, the NATO countries, Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, and the People's Republic of China. Ron Lehman came to Washington in 1974 as a public affairs fellow of the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace in Stanford, CA; worked as a legislative assistant on Capitol Hill; and in 1980 served with the office of policy coordination of the office of the President-elect Ronald Reagan. Ron Lehman has achieved the rank of major in the United States Army Reserve, is Airborne-qualified, and served in combat in Vietnam. He has taught graduate-level courses on arms control at Georgetown University.

Dr. Lehman graduated from Claremont Men's College in California (1968) and received his Ph.D. in government from the Claremont Graduate School (1975). He currently resides with his wife in Arlington, VA. He was born March 25, 1946, in California.

 

Date
03/14/1986