THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Vice President

               VICE PRESIDENT GORE SWEARS IN GEORGE HALEY
               AS US AMBASSADOR TO THE REPUBLIC OF GAMBIA

Washington, DC -- Vice President Gore swore in George Williford Boyce Haley today as the United States Ambassador to the Republic of Gambia.

"If ever a man could represent America and the virtues of freedom, it is George Haley," Vice President Gore said. "George Haley has been a leading lawyer, a State Senator, General Counsel of the United States Information Agency, and Chairman of the Postal Rate Commission."

George Haley is the direct descendent of Kunta Kinte, the African made famous by Haley's brother, Alex, in his Pulitzer Prize-winning book Roots. The book traces the history of Haley's great-great-great-greatgrandfather from the time he was captured in 1767 in the West African country, Gambia, and brought to the United States to be sold as a slave. The Vice President said that Haley's service as U.S. Ambassador to Gambia will "complete a cycle of history."

"This country's founders put their names to a document asserting a self-evident truth: that all men are created equal," Vice President Gore said. "The chronicle of American history, and of Haley family history, has been a battle to force ourselves to honor that truth."

Haley was the 2nd African-American to graduate from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1952. From 1954-1964, Haley served as the Deputy City Attorney for Kansas City. After serving as a State Senator, Haley came to Washington DC, where he served in a number of positions in the Nixon, Ford, and Carter Administrations. In 1990, he was appointed to the Postal Rate Commission and President Clinton reappointed him in November, 1993.

Haley and his wife, Doris, have two children, David and Anne -- both of whom have followed in their father's footsteps and have become lawyers.

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