THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

             PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES SYLVIA GAYE STANFIELD
                AS U.S. AMBASSADOR TO BRUNEI DARUSSALAM

The President today announced his intent to nominate Sylvia Gaye Stanfield to be U.S. Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam.

Ms. Sylvia Gaye Stanfield, a native of Dallas, Texas, is a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor. Her primary area of specialization has been Asian affairs. She began her career with the Department of State in l968. Her first overseas assignment was Vice Consul with the then American Embassy in Taipei, Taiwan. She has served as political officer with the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong and the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. Her Washington assignments have included Watch Officer in the Department of State Operations Center, political and economic/commercial officer in the Office of the People's Republic of China and Mongolian Affairs, Country Officer for Malaysia and Singapore Affairs, and Country Officer for Zambia and Malawi Affairs. Ms. Stanfield has also been an Inspector with the Office of the Inspector General and served as an Examiner with the Board of Examiners of the Foreign Service. From l990-l993, she was Director of the Office of Australia and New Zealand Affairs and from l997-l998 she headed the Taiwan Coordination Affairs Office. Her most recent overseas assignment was as Charge d'Affaires, ad interim, and Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Wellington, New Zealand. She is a Chinese language officer. Selected to attend the Department of State's Senior Seminar, Ms. Stanfield is a member of the Forty-first Class of l998-l999.

Ms. Stanfield earned a B.A. degree from Western College for Women in Oxford, Ohio. As an East-West Center grantee, she received an M.A. degree in Asian Studies from the University of Hawaii and continued her studies at the University of Hong Kong School of Oriental Studies and Linguistics.

30-30-30