Appointments and Nominations to the Panama Canal Commission Supervisory Board, the Panama Canal Consultative Committee, and the Panama Canal Joint Commission on the Environment

PANAMA CANAL COMMISSION SUPERVISORY BOARD

The President today announced his intention to appoint the five U.S. and four Panamanian members of the Panama Canal Commission Supervisory Board.

The five American members, who will be nominated for confirmation by the Senate, are:

Michael Blumenfeld, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. Blumenfeld, 45, was previously Deputy Under Secretary of the Army. He has been Assistant Secretary since May 1977 and oversaw the operations of the Canal Zone Government and the Panama Canal Company. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Panama Canal Company and was Chairman of the Canal Zone Civilian Personnel Policy Coordinating Board. In his capacity as Assistant Secretary, Blumenfeld also oversees the water resources development program of the Army Corps of Engineers.

John A. Bushnell, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs. Bushnell, 46, has been a Foreign Service officer since 1959 and has been posted in several Latin American countries. He has served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Developing Nations Finance. He has been in his present position since 1978.

J. W. Clark, president of Clark Maritime Associates, a New Orleans shipping firm, and a retired captain in the U.S. Merchant Marine. Clark, 60, graduated from the Merchant Marine Academy in 1940. He received his first command in 1943 and saw wartime service. From 1959 to 1979, he was president of Delta Line and director of the company. He resigned from the Merchant Marine in 1979. Clark is a member of the board of commissioners of the Port of New Orleans and served as chairman of the Committee of American Steamship Lines. He was president of the New Orleans International Trade Mart for 5 years and coordinated the development of the new International Trade Complex for New Orleans.

Clifford B. O'Hara, director of port commerce for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. O'Hara, 62, was chief of the Port Commerce Division from 1953 to 1962 and has been director of port commerce since 1962. He is president of the American Association of Port Authorities, former president of the North Atlantic Ports Association, and serves on the New York Chamber of Commerce and Industry's World Trade Committee and Harbor and Shipping Committee.

William Sidell, general president of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. Sidell, 64, has held this office since 1972. He is a member of the executive council of the AFL-CIO and chairman of its housing and urban development committee. He also serves as a member of the executive council of the Maritime Trades Department and the executive council of the Building and Construction Trades Department.

The four Panamanian members who will be appointed are:
EDWIN FABREGA VELARDE, director general of Panama's Institute for Water Resources and Electrification;
ROBERT HUERTEMATTE ESPINOSA, a prominent Panamanian businessman who has served as Ambassador to the United States and to the Organization of American States;
GABRIEL LEWIS GALINDO, currently Ambassador at Large, formerly Panama's Ambassador to the United States;
RICARDO A. RODRIGUEZ, an attorney who has held several positions in the Government of Panama.

PANAMA CANAL CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE

The President also today announced the appointment of three members of the Panama Canal Consultative Committee and three members of the Panama Canal Joint Commission on the Environment.

The three persons who will serve on the Panama Canal Consultative Committee are:

Lt. Gen. Welborn G. Dolvin, a retired U.S. Army officer who has served as the Defense Department representative for Panama Canal Treaty Affairs since 1978. Beginning in October 1975, he served as deputy negotiator and the Defense Department representative in the negotiation of the Panama Canal treaties of 1977. He retired from the Army in March 1975, after 36 years of service.

Ambler H. Moss, Jr., Ambassador to Panama since 1978. Moss served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Relations in 1977 and 1978 and was Department of State coordinator for the ratification of the Panama Canal treaties. Previously, he participated in the treaty negotiations for the United States. Moss has served on the U.S. Delegation to the Organization of American States and in other positions as a Foreign Service officer.

David H. Popper, special representative of the Secretary of State for Panama Treaty Affairs, with the rank of Ambassador. Popper has been with the State Department since 1945 as a specialist in international organization affairs and has served as Ambassador to Chile and Cyprus and Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs.

PANAMA CANAL JOINT COMMISSION ON THE ENVIRONMENT

The three persons who will serve on the Panama Canal Joint Commission on the Environment are:

Robert O. Blake, a retired Foreign Service officer who has been active in environmental activities since his retirement in 1977. Blake is a Director of the Natural Resources Defense Council and a senior fellow of the International Institute for Environment and Development. During the Senate debate on the Panama Canal treaties and congressional enactment of implementing legislation, Blake was chairman of the Panama Canal Environmental Task Force, a coalition of environmental groups which supported the treaties. His Foreign Service assignments included Deputy Chief of Mission in Paris, Ambassador to Mali, and senior advisor to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Charles R. Ford, executive assistant and staff director to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Ford has been in this position since 1978 and was previously Deputy, then Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, the office whose responsibilities included environmental matters and the operation of the Panama Canal.

William A. Hayne, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Environment, Health, and Natural Resources. Hayne has headed the U.S. delegations to numerous international conferences on environmental matters. Hayne has been a Foreign Service officer since 1954 and has served in economic positions in Lima, Paris, and Mexico City and on detail to the Council on Environmental Quality.