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THE WHITE HOUSE

                       Office of the Press Secretary
                     (Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts)
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                  September 5, 1997
               PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES ALPHONSE F. LA PORTA 
                     AS U. S. AMBASSADOR TO MONGOLIA

President Clinton today announced his intent to nominate Alphonse F. La Porta, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, to be U.S. Ambassador to Mongolia.

Mr. La Porta, of New York, entered the Foreign Service in 1965. He is experienced in Asian affairs, having served in Malaysia and twice in Indonesia, as well as in Turkey. His most recent overseas assignment was as Deputy Chief of Mission in Wellington, New Zealand from 1987 to 1991. In Washington, Mr. La Porta served in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs as Director of the Office of Cambodian Genocide Investigation, Executive Assistant to the President's Special Representative for the Philippine Multilateral Assistance Initiative, and Deputy Director of the Office of Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore Affairs. Mr. La Porta also had management experience in the Office of Management Operations, 1985 to 1987, and was a contributor to the State 2000 and other management reform reports. In 1995, Mr. La Porta was elected Vice President of the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA).

Mr. La Porta is a graduate of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and New York University. He served as a commissioned officer in the United States Army from 1961 to 1963. His speaks both Indonesian and Turkish. He has been married since 1966 to Katherine Ann Winget La Porta, an attorney for the Legal Counsel for the Elderly of the American Association of Retired Persons. Mr. and Mrs. La Porta have two children: Dr. Katie La Porta Beach and Andrew La Porta.

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