Appointment of Robert B. Carleson as Special Assistant to the President for Policy Development

The President announced today the appointment of Robert B. Carleson as Special Assistant to the President for Policy Development.

Mr. Carleson will be responsible for assisting in the formulation and coordination of plans to implement one of the President's major goals, the return of authority and responsibility for various programs from the Federal to State and local levels of government. He will report to Edwin J. Gray, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Policy Development.

Until his appointment, Mr. Carleson served as president of Robert B. Carleson and Associates, a management and public policy consulting firm which he founded in 1975.

From 1973 to 1975, Mr. Carleson served as U.S. Commissioner of Welfare. From 1971 to 1973, he was director of the California Department of Social Welfare, where he directed the design and implementation of then Governor Reagan's model welfare reform program.

From 1968 to 1971, he served as chief deputy director of the California Department of Public Works. From 1960 to 1968, Mr. Carleson was city manager of first, San Dimas and then Pico Rivera, Calif. From 1956 to 1960, he worked for the cities of Beverly Hills, Claremont, and Torrance, Calif.

Mr. Carleson attended the University of Utah and graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree (and postgraduate work) in public administration. He served as an officer in the navy during and after the Korean war, attached to the First Marine Division.

A second generation Californian, Mr. Carleson has three children living in California.