THE WHITE HOUSE

                       Office of the Press Secretary 
                     (Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts)
______________________________________________________________________ 
For Immediate Release                                September 3, 1997 

                PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES KATHRYN WALT HALL AS 
                         U.S. AMBASSADOR TO AUSTRIA

President Clinton today announced his intent to nominate Kathryn Walt Hall to be the U.S. Ambassador to Austria.

Ms. Hall, of Texas, began her career as Assistant City Attorney in Berkeley, California, and later joined Safeway Stores, where she was responsible for developing and administering one of the nation's first and largest affirmative action programs. Since then, she has worked as an attorney and businesswoman in Dallas, Texas, where she has been active in many civic issues, particularly in helping to create downtown housing. She is currently Executive Vice President/Managing Director with Hall Financial Group, Inc., an investment firm. In l995, Ms. Hall was appointed to the National Advisory Council for Violence Against Women, and in early l997 she was named a trustee for the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Ms. Hall earned an A.B. in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of Law. She speaks French and German. She is married to Craig Hall and is the mother of two children and stepmother of four children.

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