Nomination of Gaston Joseph Sigur, Jr., To Be an Assistant Secretary of State

The President today announced his intention to nominate Gaston Joseph Sigur, Jr., to be an Assistant Secretary of State (East Asian and Pacific Affairs). He would succeed Paul D. Wolfowitz.

Dr. Sigur is director of the Institute for Sino-Soviet Studies and professor of international affairs at George Washington University. He is also a consultant with the National Security Council at the White House and has served as Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and Senior Director of Asian Affairs. Before assuming his position at George Washington University in 1972, Dr. Sigur served for a number of years with the Asia Foundation. He was the representative of the Asia Foundation in Kabul, Afghanistan, from July 1962 to January 1966; in Japan from January 1966 to August 1968; and in Washington from June 1969 to July 1972. He has written numerous articles and monographs on international relations. He serves on a number of editorial boards of professional journals and is a member of the Association of Asian Studies, the International House of Japan, and the Japan-America Society of Washington.

Dr. Sigur graduated from the University of Michigan (B.A., 1947; M.A., 1948; Ph.D., 1957). He and his wife, the former Estelle Smotrys, have five children, and reside in Montgomery County, MD. He was born November 13, 1924, in Franklin, LA.