Appointment of William Henkel as Assistant to the President

The President today announced the appointment of William Henkel as Assistant to the President. Mr. Henkel is Deputy Assistant to the President.

In June 1985 Mr. Henkel relinquished his position as Director of the Presidential Advance Office and assumed a greater role in the areas of schedule coordination and event development. From September 1982 to March 1984, Mr. Henkel was Special Assistant to the President and Director of the Presidential Advance Office. In March 1984 he was promoted to the position of Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Presidential Advance Office. Mr. Henkel served on the 1985 Presidential Inaugural Committee as the director of operations. In this position, he was responsible for the planning and coordination of all the Inaugural events. Prior to joining the White House, he was associated with the Merrill Lynch capital markets group in New York City in 1977-1982. He served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Operations in 1975-1977. Mr. Henkel previously served in the White House in several related positions. In 1970 he joined the White House staff as a staff assistant to the President, serving as a Presidential advance representative. In November 1972 he was named Director of the White House Advance Office. He was appointed Special Assistant to the President and Director of Advance in 1973 and served in that position until January 1975. From 1965 to 1970, Mr. Henkel served as an account executive in a Merrill Lynch New York City branch office. He joined Merrill Lynch in 1963 as a junior executive trainee.

Mr. Henkel graduated from St. Lawrence University (B.S., 1963). He is married to the former Alice O'Brien, has six children, and resides in Arlington, VA. He was born June 19, 1941.