THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

      President Clinton Names Michael William Cotter as Ambassador
                    to the Republic of Turkmenistan

The President has announced his intention to nominate Michael William Cotter of the District of Columbia, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Counselor, as Ambassador to the Republic of Turkmenistan.

Michael William Cotter has been deputy chief of Mission in Santiago since 1992. He entered the Foreign Service in 1968 and was assigned to CORDS program in South Vietnam and then to the Embassy in Saigon. After an assignment as political officer in La Paz from 1971 to 1973, he served as Honduras and El Salvador Desk Officer in 1973-74 and as Bolivia Desk Officer in 1974-75. After a year at Stanford University, Cotter was assigned as political officer in Quito.

In 1979, Cotter studied Turkish prior to assignment as political-military Officer in Ankara. In 1982 he returned to the department as Senior Turkish Desk Officer. In 1984 he was assigned as a political officer in Kinshasa becoming political counselor there in 1986. From 1988 to 1990, Cotter was division chief on the planning of the Office of the Under Secretary for Management. In 1990 he became director of the Office of Defense Relations and Security Assistance in the Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs.

Cotter was born in Milwaukee on Aug. 1, 1943. He has a bachelors degree from Georgetown University, a masters degree in Latin American studies from Stanford University and a law degree from the University of Michigan. His foreign languages are Spanish, Turkish and Vietnamese. His honors include individual and group Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards and two senior performance pay awards. He is a member of the American Foreign Service Association. He is married to Joanne M. Cotter, a foreign service officer with the U.S. Information Agency.