THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY

National Security Advisor Samuel Berger announced today the appointment of Dr. Arturo Valenzuela as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Inter-American Affairs, effective June 1, 1999. Dr. Valenzuela will succeed Ambassador James Dobbins.

Dr. Valenzuela is Professor of Government and Director of the Center for Latin American Studies at Georgetown University. During the first term of the Clinton Administration (1994-1996) he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs responsible for global issues (democracy, human rights, environment, immigration) and U.S. policy towards Mexico. Prior to joining the Georgetown faculty in 1987, Dr. Valenzuela was Professor of Political Science and Director of the Council of Latin American Studies at Duke University. He has been a Visiting Scholar at Oxford University, the University of Sussex, the University of Florence, and the Catholic University of Chile. A specialist on the origins and consolidation of democracy, civil military relations, electoral systems, political parties and regime transitions, Dr. Valenzuela is the author or co-editor of nine books and numerous academic articles on Latin American affairs.

A graduate of Penfield High School, Penfield, New York, Dr. Valenzuela completed his undergraduate studies at Drew University and earned M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in political science from Columbia University. He has two children in college.

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