Statement by the Press Secretary

National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice announced today the appointment of Peter F. Allgeier as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for International Economic Affairs, National Security Council, effective February 12.

Mr. Allgeier has been the Associate U.S. Trade Representative for the Western Hemisphere since January 1995. He previously served as Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Europe and the Mediterranean from 1989 to 1995, and as Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Asia and the Pacific from 1985 to 1989. Mr. Allgeier joined USTR in June 1980 as an international economist dealing with Asia, serving in 1981 as Director for Japanese Affairs and as Deputy Assistant USTR for Asia and the Pacific from 1981 to 1985.

Prior to joining USTR, Mr. Allgeier was an international economist with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and a Visiting Instructor of Economics at Duke University.

Mr. Allgeier graduated cum laude from Brown University with an A.B. in International Relations. He holds a Master's Degree in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and a Ph.D. in International Economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was also a Rockefeller Fellow at Harvard Divinity School. Mr. Allgeier was born in Orange, New Jersey. He and his wife, Marsha, have two sons, Matthew and Daniel.