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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release June 17, 1998

                           PRESIDENT CLINTON 
               NAMES ELIZABETH MCKUNE AS U.S. AMBASSADOR 
                         TO THE STATE OF QATAR

The President today announced his intent to nominate Elizabeth McKune to be U.S. Ambassador to the State of Qatar.

Ms. Elizabeth McKune, of McLean, Virginia, is a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service. She joined the Foreign Service in l973, and has specialized in the Middle East. She was Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in the Sultanate of Oman. Other overseas postings included positions at U.S. Embassies in Israel (Consular and Commercial Officer), Egypt (Political/Economic Officer), Lebanon (Economic Counselor, Acting Public Affairs Officer and Acting AID Director), as well as a language and cultural tour at the U.S. Embassy in Tunisia. Ms. McKune's domestic assignments included tours in the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research as a political analyst for Caribbean Affairs and in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs as Office Director for Pacific Island Affairs. Ms. McKune also served as Deputy Executive Secretary to the Secretary of State in the Executive Secretariat. She currently is Country Director for Northern Arabian Affairs in the State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.

Ms. McKune received a B.A. from Carleton College in 1970, and an M.A. from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in 1972. She also graduated with "distinction" from the National War College at Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C. in l992. Ms. McKune is a recipient of Meritorious Honor Awards from the State Department and the United States Information Agency. She speaks Arabic, French, and Italian.

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