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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release May 20, 1997

              PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES DAVID J. SCHEFFER
             AS AMBASSADOR AT LARGE FOR WAR CRIMES ISSUES
                   AT THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

        President Clinton today announced his intent to nominate David J.

Scheffer as Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues at the Department of State.

Mr. Scheffer, of Ashburn, Virginia, currently serves as Senior Adviser to the Secretary of State. During the President's first term, he was Senior Adviser and Counsel to former U.S. United Nations Ambassador Madeleine Albright and worked extensively on war crimes issues and national security matters. Prior to joining State, Mr. Scheffer was an attorney with the international law firm of Coudert Brothers; an International Affairs Fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations; a Senior Consultant of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the U.S. House of Representatives; and a Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He earned an A.B. degree in Government and Economics from Harvard College in 1975, a J.D.from Oxford University in 1978, and an LL.M degree in International and Comparative Law from Georgetown University Law Center in 1978. Mr. Scheffer is a member of the New York and District of Columbia Bars.

In his capacity as Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues, Mr. Scheffer will report directly to the Secretary of State and advise the Secretary on U.S. efforts to address serious violations of international humanitarian law. He will coordinate work on war crimes issues, such as support for the Yugoslav and Rwanda War Crimes Tribunals, and develop policy initiatives on mechanisms of accountability for war crimes.

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