Press Release - President Obama Announces Key State Department Appointment

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, President Obama announced his intent to nominate Rose Gottemoeller for Assistant Secretary of State for Verification and Compliance.

President Obama said, "Turning the tide on the threat of nuclear weapons and strengthening the international non-proliferation regime is one of the great and urgent challenges of our time. Rose Gottemoeller's extraordinary commitment and expertise make her a valuable addition to the State Department and my national security team as we renew American diplomacy to create a more secure world."

Rose Gottemoeller Biography:

Rose Gottemoeller served as Director of the Carnegie Moscow Center from January 2006 to December 2008. Currently, she has resumed her position as Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment, where she holds a joint appointment with the Russian and Eurasian Program and the Global Policy Program. A specialist on defense and nuclear issues in Russia and the other former Soviet states, Gottemoeller's research at the Endowment focused on issues of nuclear security and stability, non-proliferation, and arms control.

Before joining the Endowment in October 2000, Gottemoeller was Deputy Undersecretary for Defense Nuclear Non-proliferation in the U.S. Department of Energy. Previously, she served as the Department's Assistant Secretary for Non-proliferation and National Security, with responsibility for all non-proliferation cooperation with Russia and the Newly Independent States. She first joined the Department in November 1997 as Director of the Office of Non-proliferation and National Security. Prior to the Energy Department, Gottemoeller served for three years as Deputy Director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. From 1993 to 1994, she served on the staff of the National Security Council in the White House as Director for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia Affairs, with responsibility for denuclearization in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus. She has taught courses at Georgetown University on Soviet military policy and Russian security in Eurasia.