Appointment of Aram Bakshian, Jr., as Special Assistant to the President and Director of the Presidential Speechwriting Office

The President today announced the appointment of Aram Bakshian, Jr., to be Special Assistant to the President and Director of the Presidential Speechwriting Office.

Since February Mr. Bakshian has served as Special Assistant to the President in the Office of Public Liaison with responsibility for the arts, humanities, and academia.

A native of Washington, D.C., Mr. Bakshian, 37, is an author, critic, and essayist, whose writing has been published in over 10 languages on historical, political, humorous, and cultural subjects. He is the author or coauthor of several books, including "The War Game," "The Candidates 1980," "The Future Under President Reagan" and, in German, "Servus Du," the memoirs of Robert Stolz, Austria's last waltz and operetta master.

Besides his writing activities, Mr. Bakshian has served as a corporate consultant to leading American businesses and has occupied several political and governmental positions, serving as a consultant to Treasury Secretary William Simon in 1976-77, a speechwriter and aide to Presidents Nixon and Ford in 1972-75, a special assistant to the chairman of the Republican National Committee in 1971, and an aide to Representative (later Senator) Bill Brock (R-Tenn.) in 1966-70.

Mr. Bakshian was educated in Washington public and private schools and in 1975 became a fellow of Harvard University's Institute of Politics. He is a member of the National Press Club in Washington and the Reform Club in London.

His writing has appeared in leading American and foreign newspapers and periodicals including Wall Street Journal, National Review, New York Times, Boston Globe, American Spectator, National Observer, the Washingtonian, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, History Today (England), Spectator (England), and many international editions of Reader's Digest. lie was assistant editor of the 1980 Republican platform.