Appointment of David Abshire as Special Counsellor to the President

December 26, 1986

The President today announced the appointment of Ambassador David Abshire as Special Counsellor to the President. Ambassador Abshire will serve on temporary assignment as the White House coordinator for the Iran inquiry. He will assume his duties here January 5, 1987, and will continue with some NATO duties until his successor is confirmed. In that capacity, which will have Cabinet rank, he will head a team that will coordinate White House activities in all aspects of the Iran matter. He will coordinate White House responses to congressional and other requests for information in a timely manner, working with senior members of the White House staff, assisted by representatives from key White House staff offices.

The President is pleased and grateful for Ambassador Abshire's willingness to undertake this important special assignment and looks forward to working with such a talented and dedicated public servant. Ambassador Abshire has served at NATO with the utmost distinction and success. He has a well-deserved reputation as a respected and articulate advocate of our foreign policy goals.

Dr. Abshire was appointed United States Permanent Representative on the Council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on March 30, 1983. He has served as president of the Georgetown University Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), which he helped found in 1962. Previously, he served as a member of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board and of the Long-Range Planning Advisory Board for the Chief of Naval Operations.

Dr. Abshire graduated from the United States Military Academy (B.S., 1951) and Georgetown University (Ph.D., 1959). He is married and has five children. Dr. Abshire was born April 11, 1926, in Chattanooga, TN.