THE WHITE HOUSE

                     Office of the Press Secretary
                  (Xian, People's Republic of China)
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                      June 25, 1998

STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY

National Security Advisor Samuel R. Berger announced today the appointment of Gayle E. Smith as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council. She will succeed Joseph C. Wilson IV.

Prior to her appointment, Ms. Smith served as Senior Advisor to the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Agency for International Development. With over 20 years of experience in Africa, she has served as a consultant to the World Bank, EU and a number of American and European NGOs on African economic issues, and as the Coordinator for the African Program of the Development Group for Alternative Policies. Ms. Smith has also acted as advisor to official and non-governmental conflict resolution efforts in Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia.

From 1978-1984, Ms. Smith covered African political, economic and military affairs for the BBC, Boston Globe, Financial Times and other international publications. She has published extensively on African politics, development and complex emergencies, and won the World Journalism Award in 1989.

Born in Columbus, Ohio, Ms. Smith received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Colorado.

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