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Nomination of David George Newton To Be United States Ambassador to Iraq

April 26, 1985

The President today announced his intention to nominate David George Newton, of Virginia, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Counselor, as Ambassador to the Republic of Iraq. He would be our first Ambassador to Iraq since resumption of diplomatic relations on November 26, 1984.

Mr. Newton began his career with Bell Telephone Co. in 1957-1958. In 1962 he entered the Foreign Service Institute for training and from there served as vice consul, American consulate general, Zurich, Switzerland, until 1964. In 1964-1966 he took Arabic language training at the Foreign Service Institute in Beirut, Lebanon. Following this he became economic officer at the American Embassy in Sanaa, Yemen, until 1967. In 1967-1969 he returned to the Department as economic officer in the Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs (Lebanon, Jordan, Syrian Arab Republic, and Iraq desks). In 1970-1973, he served as political officer in Jedda, Saudi Arabia. From there he returned to Sanaa as deputy chief of mission until 1975. Mr. Newton then became Division Chief of Near Eastern Affairs in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research in the Department in 1975-1977. In 1978-1981 he served as deputy chief of mission in Damascus, Syria, and in 1981-1984 as political counselor at the U.S. Interests Section in Baghdad, Iraq. From 1984 to the present, he has been Charge d'Affaires at the Embassy in Baghdad.

Mr. Newton was born November 13, 1935, in Boston, MA. He graduated from Harvard College (A.B., 1957) and the University of Michigan (M.A., 1970). His foreign languages are Arabic, German, and French. Mr. Newton served in the United States Army in 1958-1961. He is married to the former Margarete Rathay, and they have two children.

Ronald Reagan, Nomination of David George Newton To Be United States Ambassador to Iraq Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/260338

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