Nomination of Morton Isaac Abramowitz To Be United States Ambassador to Turkey

The President today announced his intention to nominate Morton Isaac Abramowitz, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Career Minister, as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Turkey. He would succeed Robert Strausz-Hupe.

Since 1986 Ambassador Abramowitz has been Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research. Prior to this, he was Director of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, 1984 - 1985, and representative of the United States of America to the mutual balanced force reduction negotiations, with the rank of Ambassador, 1983 - 1984. He joined the Foreign Service in 1960 as consular/economic officer and served in this position until 1962. From 1962 to 1963, he took language training in Tai Chung. From 1963 to 1966, he was political officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong. He served as an international economist at the Department of State, 1966 - 1968, and as special assistant in the Office of the Secretary, 1969 - 1971. He was a student at the Institute for Strategic Studies in London, England. From 1971 to 1972, he was a Foreign Service inspector, and foreign affairs analyst at the Department of State, 1972 - 1973. He served as political adviser to CINC-PAC [commander in chief, Pacific Command] in Honolulu, Hawaii, 1973 - 1974. From 1974 to 1978, he was on detail as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Affairs. He has served as Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand, 1978 - 1981; served in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, 1981 - 1982; and was a foreign affairs fellow at the Rand Corp., 1982 - 1983.

Ambassador Abramowitz was born January 20, 1933, in Lakewood, NJ. He graduated from Stanford University (B.A., 1953) and Harvard University (M.A., 1955). He served in the U.S. Army in 1957. He is married and has two children.