Nomination of Edward Joseph Perkins To Be United States Ambassador to Liberia

The President today announced his intention to nominate Edward Joseph Perkins, of Oregon, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, as Ambassador to the Republic of Liberia. He would succeed William Lacy Swing.

Mr. Perkins began his government career in 1958 as Chief of Personnel, Army and Air Force Exchange Service, in Taipei, Taiwan. In 1962 he became Deputy Chief of Personnel and Administration, Army and Air Force Exchange Service, in Okinawa and in 1964 was made Chief of Personnel and Administration, where he served until 1966. In 1966-1967 he was assistant general services officer in the Far East Bureau of the Agency for International Development. In 1967 he went to Bangkok as assistant general services officer at the United States Operations Mission to Thailand. In 1969 he served as management analyst and in 1970 assistant director for management at the mission, where he served until 1972. In 1972 he returned to the Department of State in Washington to become staff assistant in the Office of the Director General of the Foreign Service. From 1972 to 1974, Mr. Perkins was personnel officer in the Director General's office. In 1974-1975 he served as administrative officer in the Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs and from there became a management analysis officer in the Office of Management Operations. From 1978 to 1981, Mr. Perkins was counselor for political affairs at our Embassy in Accra, Ghana. In 1981-1983 he was deputy chief of mission in Monrovia, Liberia. In 1983 he studied French at the Foreign Service Institute. From 1983 to the present, he has been Director, Office of West African Affairs, in the Bureau of African Affairs.

Mr. Perkins studied at the University of California and Lewis and Clark College. He graduated from the University of Maryland (B.A., 1967) and the University of Southern California (M.P.A., 1972; D.P.A., 1978). His foreign languages are Thai, French, and Japanese. He was born June 8, 1928, in Sterlington, LA. He is married to the former Lucy Liu, and they have two daughters.