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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary


For Immediate Release March 7, 1995

STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY

National Security Adviser Anthony Lake today appointed Mark R. Parris as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Near East and South Asian Affairs at the National Security Council, effective March 8, 1995.

Mr. Parris, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, has been Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs since May 1992. Prior to this position, he was Deputy Chief of Mission in the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel. Mr. Parris has also served as Director of the Office of Soviet Union Affairs and Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. Entering the Foreign Service in 1972, Mr. Parris has served in numerous positions overseas and in Washington. He has earned the State Department's Superior Honor Award on two occasions and the Presidential Meritorious Service Award on three occasions.

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Mr. Parris was raised in the Washington, D.C. area. He graduated magna cum laude from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in 1972. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He speaks Russian, Portuguese, French and some Hebrew. Mr. Parris is married to the former Joan Elizabeth Gardner; they have two children.

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