Nomination of William Lacy Swing To Be United States Ambassador to Liberia
July 1, 1981
The President today announced his intention to nominate William Lacy Swing, of North Carolina, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Liberia, vice Robert P. Smith, resigned.
In 1961 Mr. Swing was a schoolteacher in Germany, and in 1961-63 he was associate director, Council on Religion in Independent Schools (New York). He entered the Foreign Service in 1963, attending consular and African area studies at the Foreign Service Institute. He was Vice Consul in Port Elizabeth in 1964-66. In 1966-67 he was international economist in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs in the Department, and in 1968-72 he was head of visa section then chief of consular section in Hamburg. In the Department he was desk officer for the Federal Republic of Germany in 1972-74. He was Deputy Chief of Mission in Banqui in 1974-76. He attended the Harvard University Center for International Affairs in 1976-77. In the Department he was Alternate Director of the Office of Central African Affairs in 1977-79. Since 1979 he has been Ambassador to the People's Republic of the Congo.
Mr. Swing graduated from Catawba College and Yale University. In 1961 he attended postgraduate studies at Tuebingen University in Germany. Mr. Swing has one child and resides in Lexington, N.C. He was born September 11, 1934, in Lexington, N.C.
Nomination of John R. Countryman To Be United States Ambassador to Oman
July 1, 1981
The President today announced his intention to nominate John R. Countryman, of Washington, D.C., to be Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman, vice Marshall W. Wiley, resigned.
Mr. Countryman was a reporter and feature writer for the News-Times of Danbury, Conn., in 1961-62 prior to entering the Foreign Service. In 1963-65 he was a Foreign Service officer-general in Istanbul and served as staff assistant in the Department in 1965-66. He studied Arabic language in Beirut in 1966-68 and was economic and commercial officer in Dhahran (1968-71), in Tripoli (1971-73), and Deputy Chief of Mission in Libreville (1973-75). In 1975-76 he attended the Army War College. In the Department he was Deputy Director of the Office of Regional Affairs in the Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs (1976-78), and since 1979 he has been Director of Arabian Peninsula Affairs.
Mr. Countryman graduated from Fordham University (B.S., 1954) and the University of Miami (M.A., 1961). He was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Berlin (Germany) in 1954- 5. He served in the U.S. Air Force as a pilot in 1956-58. Mr. Countryman is married and has one child. He was born January 25, 1933, in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Nomination of John A. Todhunter To Be an Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
July 1, 1981
The President today announced his intention to nominate John A. Todhunter to be Assistant Administrator for Toxic Substances of the Environmental Protection Agency, vice Steven D. Jellinek, resigned.
Since 1978 Dr. Todhunter has been chairman, Biochemistry Program, and assistant professor of biology, the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. He was a fellow in the Department of Biochemistry, Roche Institute of Molecular Biology, Hoffman LaRoche, Inc., Nutley, N.J., in 1976-78. Dr. Todhunter was teaching assistant, research assistant, and regent's fellow at the University of California (Santa Barbara) in 1974 - 76. Previously he was an instructor at California State University (Los Angeles).
Dr. Todhunter graduated from the University of California (B.S., 1971); California State University (M.S., 1973); and the University of California (Ph. D., 1976).
Dr. Todhunter is married, has two children, and resides in Maryland. He was born October 9, 1949, in Cali, Colombia, South America.
Nomination of Charles M. Girard To Be an Associate Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
July 1, 1981
The President today announced his intention to nominate Charles M. Girard to be an Associate Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Resources Management and Administration), vice Richard J. Green.
Since 1980 Dr. Girard has been director of human resources, Public Technology, Inc., of Washington, D.C. In 1971-80 he was president, International Training, Research & Evaluation Council, in Fairfax, Va. Dr. Girard was assistant to the director of the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, Detroit, Mich., in 1969-71. He was an instructor and training coordinator at Wayne State University, Detroit, Mich., in 1967-69. Previously Dr. Girard was assistant to the city manager, city of Port Huron, Mich., in 1966-67 and a part-time employment and management trainee with the Ford Motor Co. in 1961-65.
Dr. Girard was a member of the Director-Nominee's Reorganization Task Force, Federal Emergency Management Agency. He was also a member of the first national advisory board, National Crime Prevention Institute, University of Louisville, Louisville, Ky.
Dr. Girard graduated from Park College, Parkville, Mo. (B.A.); University of Pennsylvania (M.A.); and Wayne State University, Detroit, Mich. (Ph. D.).
Dr. Girard is married, has one child, and resides in Fairfax, Va. He was born February 3, 1943, in Detroit, Mich.
Nomination of Vernon R. Wiggins To Be Federal Cochairman of the Alaska Land Use Council
July 1, 1981
The President today announced his intention to nominate Vernon R. Wiggins to be Federal Cochairman of the Alaska Land Use Council.
Since 1978 Mr. Wiggins has been executive director and secretary to the board of directors, Citizens for the Management of Alaska Lands, Inc., Anchorage, Alaska. Previously, he was planning services manager with Tryck, Nyman & Hayes (Engineers, Planners & Surveyors) in 1973-77; associate planner, senior planner, assistant planning director, and director of planning, municipality of Anchorage, in 1967-72; assistant planner and director of planning, charter township of Waterford (Mich.) in 1963-67; and planning technician, Northern Kentucky Area Planning Commission, in 1962-63.
Mr. Wiggins graduated from the University of Cincinnati (B.A., 1962). He is married, has two children, and resides in Anchorage, Alaska. He was born June 15, 1939, in Norwood, Ohio.