United States Ambassador to Syria Nomination of Talcott W. Seelye.

The President today announced that he will nominate Talcott W. Seelye, of Bethesda, Md., as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States to the Syrian Arab Republic. He would replace Richard W. Murphy, who has been appointed Ambassador to the Philippines.

Seelye was born March 6, 1922, in Lebanon, of American parents. He received a B.A. (1947) and LL.D. (1974) from Amherst College. He served in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1946.

Seelye joined the Foreign Service in 1949, and was posted in Stuttgart, Ulm, Amman, Beirut, and Kuwait. From 1960 to 1964, he was Iraq-Jordan desk officer, then officer in charge of Arabian Peninsula affairs, at the State Department.

In 1964-65 Seelye attended the National War College, and from 1965 to 1968, he was Chief of Mission in Jidda. From 1968 to 1972, he was Country Director for Lebanon, Jordan, the Syrian Arab Republic, and Iraq.

From 1972 to 1976, Seelye was Ambassador to Tunisia. He was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs from 1976 to 1977. In 1976 he also served as special representative to the President of Lebanon.