THE WHITE HOUSE

                     Office of the Press Secretary
                          (New York, New York)
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                      June 28, 1999

           PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES MICHAEL E. RANNEBERGER AS
                U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE REPUBLIC OF MALI

The President announced today his intent to nominate Michael E. Ranneberger to be U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Mali.

Mr. Michael E. Ranneberger, of Arlington, Virginia, is a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service. He assumed his current duties as Coordinator for Cuban Affairs in July 1995. Mr. Ranneberger has worked extensively on African issues. In August 1994 he became Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu, Somalia. His service as Deputy Chief of Mission in Maputo, Mozambique during 1986-1989 included eight months as Charge d'Affaires. As the desk officer for Angola during 1981-1984, he worked as a member of the Department's team negotiating independence for Namibia and with withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola. Mr. Ranneberger also served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Asuncion, Paraguay during 1989-1992, and as Deputy Director for Central American Affairs from 1992-1994. After working as a Special Assistant to Under Secretary for Political Affairs Michael Armacost during 1984-1985, Mr. Ranneberger was awarded an International Affairs Fellowship at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

Mr. Ranneberger obtained a B.A. from Towson State University in Baltimore, and an M.A. in history from the University of Virginia. He speaks Spanish, Portuguese, and French.

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