This is historical material, "frozen in time." The web site is no longer updated and links to external web sites and some internal pages will not work.

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release July 16, 1998

              PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES JOHN MELVIN YATES AS
              U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE REPUBLIC OF CAMEROON

The President today announced his intent to nominate Ambassador John Melvin Yates to be U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Cameroon.

Ambassador John Yates, of Spokane, Washington, is a career Member of the Senior Foreign Service. He is currently the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Benin. Ambassador Yates is among the Department of State's most experienced African specialists, having spent the bulk of his Foreign Service career on the African continent or dealing with it from Washington. He has served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Lagos, Nigeria; in Libreville, Gabon; and in Kinshasa, Zaire (and later as Charge d'Affaires, in Kinshasa). He also served as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Cape Verde, as well as at the U.S. Embassies in Algiers, Algeria; Blantyre, Malawi; Bamako, Mali; New Delhi, India; and Ankara, Turkey. His departmental assignments have included the Bureau of African Affairs and the Bureau of Oceans, Environment and Scientific Affairs.

Ambassador Yates earned a B.A. degree in International Relations from Stanford University in 1961, followed by an M.A. in International Affairs in 1962, an M.A. in Law and Diplomacy in 1963 and a Ph.D. in 1972, all from the Fletcher School of Law Diplomacy. He speaks French and Portuguese.

-30-30-30-