Press Release: President Bush to Appoint Connor to be Special Assistant to the President for Agricultural Trade and Food Assistance

President George W. Bush today announced his appointment of Charles F. Connor to be Special Assistant to the President for Agricultural Trade and Food Assistance. Connor will serve as an important member of the Administration's agriculture team, working with the Department of Agriculture, Congress, and the farming and ranching community in the development of the President's agriculture policy.

Connor has served as the President of the Corn Refiners Association since 1997. Before joining the Corn Refiners Association, he served with the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry as Majority Staff Director from 1995 to 1997, Minority Staff Director from 1987 to 1995 and as a professional staff member of the Committee from 1985 to 1987. His accomplishments at the committee include the passage of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996, the Food Safety Improvements Act of 1996 and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1992. From 1980 to 1985, Connor was a Legislative Assistant in the Office of Senator Richard Lugar from Indiana. A native of Benton County, Indiana, Connor is a graduate of Purdue University.