United States Ambassador to Guatemala Nomination of Frank V. Ortiz, Jr.

The President today announced that he will nominate Frank V. Ortiz, Jr., of Santa Fe, N. Mex., to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States to Guatemala. He would replace Davis Eugene Boster, who has retired from the Foreign Service.

Ortiz is currently Ambassador to Barbados and the State of Grenada and Special Representative to Dominica and Saint Lucia, and to the Associated States.

He was born March 14, 1926, in Santa Fe, N. Mex. He received a B.S. from Georgetown University in 1950 and an M.S. from George Washington University in 1967. He served in the U.S. Army from 1944 to 1946.

From 1951 to 1953, Ortiz was international relations officer at the State Department, and from 1953 to 1956, he was economic officer in Addis Ababa. He was political officer in Mexico from 1956 to 1958, and a foreign affairs officer at the State Department from 1958 to 1961.

From 1961 to 1963, Ortiz was special assistant to the Ambassador in Mexico City. He was country desk officer for Spain from 1963 to 1966, and attended the National War College in 1966-67. From 1967 to 1970, he was counselor for political affairs in Lima.

From 1970 to 1973, Ortiz was Deputy Chief of Mission in Montevideo. He served as Country Director for Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay from 1973 to 1975. He was Deputy Executive Secretary at the State Department from 1975 until 1977, when he assumed his present post.