Nomination of Robert Gerhard Neumann To Be United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia

The President today announced his intention to nominate Robert Gerhard Neumann of Culver City, Calif., to be Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, vice John C. West, resigning.

Mr. Neumann was an instructor at State Teachers College in Oshkosh, Wis., from 1941 to 1942, and a lecturer of political science at the University of Wisconsin from 1946 to 1947. From 1947 to 1970, he was with the University of California at Los Angeles serving successively as assistant, associate, and professor. Also he was director of the Institute of International and Foreign Studies (1958-65), and chairman of the Atlantic and West European Program (1965-66). He was granted a leave of absence in 1966-70. Since 1976 he has been with Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., as director of the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy (1976-77), senior associate for parliamentary/congressional relations of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (1976-present), and since 1980 as vice chairman, Center for Strategic and International Studies.

From 1966 to 1973, Mr. Neumann was Ambassador to Afghanistan and Ambassador to Morocco from 1973 to 1976. He was the director of the Department of State transition team.

Mr. Neumann was born January 2, 1916, in Vienna, Austria. He received diplomas from the University of Rennes, France (1936), Consular Academy, Austria (1937), and Geneya School of International Studies, Switzerland (1937). He graduated in 1940 (M.A.) from Amherst College and received his Ph.D. in 1946 from the University of Minnesota. He is married to the former Marlen Eldredge and has two grown children.