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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release February 24, 1994

               PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES RYAN CLARK CROCKER 
                          AMBASSADOR TO KUWAIT

President Clinton today announced his intention to nominate Ryan Clark Crocker, a career member of the foreign service and formerly Director of the Iraq-Kuwait Task Force, to be Ambassador to Kuwait.

"Ryan Clark Crocker has led a distinguished career in the foreign service and has a keen understanding of the issues facing Kuwait and the rest of the Middle East," the President said. "He is well-qualified to serve as our country's Ambassador to Kuwait and I am pleased he has agreed to accept this new assignment."

Following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, Crocker became the Director of the Iraq-Kuwait Task Force. In November of 1990, he was sworn in as Ambassador to Lebanon and served in that position until August 1993.

Crocker first joined the foreign service in 1971. After Farsi language training, he was assigned to the American Consulate in Khorramshahr, Iran in 1972. His subsequent assignment was to the newly-established embassy in Doha, Qatar in 1974 as an economic/commercial officer and in 1976 Crocker returned to Washington for long-te Arabic training. He completed the 20-month program at the Foreign Service Institutes Arabic School in Tunis in June 1978 Crocker was then assigned as chief of the economic-commercial section at the U.S. Interests Section in Baghdad, Iraq. Crocker served in Beirut, Lebanon as chief of the political section from 1981 - 84. He spent the academic year from 1984 - 85 at Princeton University under State Department auspices pursuing course work in near Eastern studies. He served as deputy director of the Office of Israel and Arab-Israeli affairs from 1985 - 87 and was political counselor at the American Embassy in Cairo from 1987 - 90.

Crocker was born on June 19, 1949 in Spokane, Washington. He attended University College, Dublin and Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, where he received a B.A. in English Literature in 1971. Crocker is married to the former Christine Barnes. He speaks Arabic, French and Farsi.

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