Nomination of John Dimitri Negroponte To Be an Assistant Secretary of State
March 25, 1985
The President today announced his intention to nominate John Dimitri Negroponte, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. He would succeed James L. Malone.
Ambassador Negroponte entered the Foreign Service in 1960 and served in Hong Kong as consular officer (1960 - 1961) and commercial officer (1961 - 1963). In the Department he was administrative assistant in the Bureau of African Affairs (1963) and studied the Vietnamese language at the Foreign Service Institute (1963 - 1964). In 1964 - 1968 he was political officer in Saigon and a member of the Paris peace talks on Vietnam in 1968 - 1969. He attended Stanford University in 1969 - 1970 and was a member of the staff at the National Security Council in 1970 - 1973. In 1973 he studied the Spanish language at the Foreign Service Institute. He was counselor for political affairs in Quito (1973 - 1975) and consul general in Thessaloniki (1975 - 1977). In the Department he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and Fisheries Affairs, with the rank of Ambassador, in 1977 - 1979. He was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs in 1980 - 1981. Since 1981 he has been serving as United States Ambassador to Honduras.
He graduated from Yale University (B.A., 1960). His foreign languages are French, Spanish, and Vietnamese. He was born July 21, 1939, in London, England.
Nomination of Lee L. Verstandig To Be Under Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
March 25, 1985
The President today announced his intention to nominate Lee L. Verstandig to be Under Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. He would succeed Philip Abrams.
Since June 1, 1983, Dr. Verstandig has been serving as Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs. Previously he served at the Environmental Protection Agency as Acting Administrator and Acting Assistant Administrator for Legislation. He was Assistant Secretary for Governmental Affairs at the Department of Transportation in 1981 - 1983. He served as a member of the board of directors of Amtrak in 1982.
He was administrative assistant and legislative director to Senator John H. Chafee in 1977 - 1981; associate dean of academic affairs and dean of political affairs for special studies at Brown University in 1970 - 1977; professor of history and political science at Roger Williams College in 1963 - 1970 and served as its department chairman in 1965 - 1967. He is the author of numerous articles and books on government, political history, education, and public policy.
Dr. Verstandig graduated from Franklin and Marshall College (A.B., 1959), the University of Tennessee (M.A., 1961), and Brown University (Ph.D., 1970). He is married, has one child, and resides in Washington, DC. He was born September 11, 1937, in Memphis, TN.