THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release May 5, 1993

PRESIDENT NAMES RAPHEL FOR SOUTH ASIAN POST

(Washington, DC) President Clinton announced his intention today to nominate Robin Lynn Raphel to be Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs. Raphel is a career member of the Foreign Service.

"I am very glad that Robin Raphel has agreed to serve as Assistant Secretary for South Asian Affairs," said the President. "Having lived in the region as a diplomat and as a visiting teacher, she brings a tremendous understanding to the post."

Raphel, who is currently Counselor for Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in India, joined the Foreign Service in the mid- 1970s as a USAID economic/financial analyst in Pakistan. She has also served as a political officer in London covering Middle East, South Asia, Africa and East Asian Affairs and as Counselor for Political Affairs in South Africa. In addition, she has worked at the State Department as an economist in the Office of Investment Affairs, economic officer on the Israel Desk, Staff Aide for the Assistant Secretary for the Near East South Asia Bureau, and Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs.

Before joining the Foreign Service, Raphel worked as an economic analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency. She also worked as a teacher at a women's college in Tehran, Iran during a break in her graduate studies.

Raphel is a graduate of the University of Washington and holds an M.A. from the University of Maryland. She also studied in England at Cambridge University and the University of London. She and her husband, Leonard Ashton, have two young daughters.

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