Press Release - Personnel Announcement

President George W. Bush today announced his intention to nominate two individuals, his official nomination of one individual and his appointment of one individual to serve in his administration.

The President intends to nominate Wendy J. Chamberlain to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. She is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service and has served as the Principle Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs since 1999. Before this assignment, she held the post of Ambassador to Laos from 1996 to 1999, served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Kuala Lumpur from 1993 to 1996 and as Director of Public Affairs for the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs from 1991 to 1993. Ambassador Chamberlain was Director of Counter Terrorism Affairs in the National Security Council from 1989 to 1991 and has held various other posts both in Washington D.C., and abroad. She is a two-time recipient of Department Superior Honor Awards, is a graduate of Northwestern University and earned a Master's degree from Boston University.

The President intends to nominate Lavenski R. Smith to be a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

The President has officially nominated Sharon Prost to be a Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

The President intends to appoint Charles Blahous, III, to be Executive Director of the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security. He is currently serving as a member of the National Economic Council and was previously Executive Director of the Alliance for Worker Retirement Security. Blahous served as Policy Director for Senator Judd Gregg from 1996 to 2000 and was a member of former Senator Alan Simpson's legislative staff from 1990 to 1996. He is a graduate of Princeton University and received a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley.