Resignation of George M. Seignious II and Nomination of Ralph Earle II as Director of the United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency

The President today accepted with regret the resignation, for reasons of health, of George M. Seignious as Director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency and announced his intention to nominate Ralph Earle II as Director.

Seignious was appointed Director of ACDA on the resignation of Paul C. Warnke in November 1978 and was sworn in on December 4, 1978. He was confirmed by the Senate on March 1, 1979.

Earle has been serving since November 1978 as Chairman of the U.S. Delegation to the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks and as Special Representative for Arms Control and Disarmament Negotiations, with the rank of Ambassador.

Seignious will continue as Director until Earle assumes office. On assumption of the office of Director, Earle intends to resign from his present positions.

The President also announced his intention to nominate Seignious as the at-large delegate on U.S. arms control delegations, such as the SALT and MBFR delegations, with the personal rank of Ambassador.

Earle was born September 26, 1928, in Bryn Mawr, Pa. He received an A.B. from Harvard College in 1950 and an LL.B. from Harvard Law School in 1955. He served in the U.S. Army from 1950 to 1952.

Earle practiced law with the firm of Morgan, Lewis and Bockius in Philadelphia from 1956 to 1968. In 1968 and 1969. he served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, and subsequently as Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense and as Special Advisor for Europe and NATO in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

From 1969 to 1972, Earle was defense adviser to the U.S. Mission to NATO. In 1972 and 1973, he was a consultant for SALT in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He was the ACDA representative on the U.S. Delegation to SALT from 1973 until 1977, when he became Alternate Chairman of the Delegation.