THE WHITE HOUSE

                     Office of the Press Secretary
                           (New Delhi, India)
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                     March 20, 2000

           PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES LAWRENCE GEORGE ROSSIN AS
               U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA

     The President announced today his intent to nominate Lawrence

George Rossin to be U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Croatia.

Mr. Lawrence Rossin, of Santa Maria, California, is a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Counselor. He joined the Foreign Service in 1975, and is currently serving as Designated Chief of Mission of the United States Office in Pristina, Kosovo. Prior to that, Mr. Rossin was the Director for South Central European Affairs in the Department of State. Earlier service included postings as Deputy Chief of Mission in Madrid, Spain and as Director for Inter-American Affairs on the staff of the National Security Council. Mr. Rossin also served in Mali, South America, Barbados, Haiti and The Netherlands, and in domestic assignments in the Bureau of Inter-American Affairs and Bureau of Finance and Management Policy.

Mr. Rossin graduated from Claremont Men's College, Claremont, California, in 1975 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He also studied at the NATO Defense College in Rome, Italy and in the "Seminar XXI" program of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His languages are Spanish, French and Dutch. Mr. Rossin holds the Department of State Award for Valor, three Superior Honor Awards and the Meritorious Honor Award.

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