THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

         PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES JOHN BRYANT AS THE HEAD OF THE 
         U.S. DELEGATION TO THE INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS 
           UNION'S 1997 WORLD RADIOCOMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE 
                    WITH THE PERSONAL RANK OF AMBASSADOR

The President today announced his intent to appoint former U.S. Representative John Bryant as Head of the U.S. Delegation to the International Telecommunication Union's 1997 World Radiocommunications Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, with the Personal Rank of Ambassador.

Representative Bryant, of Dallas, Texas, served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 1997. An expert in global communications, he was a member of the Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Telecommunications. As a member of the Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Representative Bryant was active on all legislation regarding domestic and international telecommunications. Prior to entering Congress, he was a practicing lawyer and member of the Texas House of Representatives for five terms. Since leaving Congress, Representative Bryant has returned to practicing law and works in the communications field. He has offices in Washington and Dallas.

Representative Bryant received his B.A. from Southern Methodist University in 1969, and his J.D. from Southern Methodist Unversity School of Law in 1972. He speaks Spanish.

The Head of the U.S. Delegation works closely with the ITU, the United Nations' specialized agency devoted to telecommunications, and participates in the ITU's biennial international process to allocate international frequencies among the many communication services, including the major satellite systems. The process culminates in the World Radiocommunications Conference from October 27 to November 21, in Geneva, Switzerland which will be attended by over 1,200 delegates from 140 countries.

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