THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary ________________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release July 9, 1996 STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY National Security Adviser Anthony Lake today announced the appointment of Antony J. Blinken as Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and Senior Director for Strategic Planning, National Security Council. Mr. Lake also announced the appointment of Julia Moffett as Director for Communications, National Security Council. Prior to assuming his new duties, Mr. Blinken served as NSC Senior Director for Speechwriting -- President Clinton's chief foreign policy speechwriter. Previously, he served as NSC Director for Speechwriting and as Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs. Prior to the Clinton Administration, Mr. Blinken was a lawyer in New York and Paris. He also has been a reporter for The New Republic and has written about foreign policy for The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine and other publications. He is the author of Ally Versus Ally: America, Europe and the Siberian Pipeline Crisis. Mr. Blinken received a French Baccalaureat degree, a B.A. Magna Cum Laude from Harvard College, and a J.D. from Columbia Law School. Since, Ms. Moffett has served as Special Assistant to the White House Communications Director. She worked on health care reform, affirmative action and numerous foreign policy issues including Bosnia. Before joining the White House staff, she was a scheduler for Clinton/Gore '92 and produced the Economic Conference of the President-Elect during the transition. Prior to the campaign, Ms. Moffett worked for Rep. George Miller (D-CA), former Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, where she handled communications and relations with the environmental community, and coordinated the Chairman's delegation to the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Ms. Moffett graduated from Wesleyan University with Highest Honors. The Strategic Planning Directorate will oversee foreign policy communications and speechwriting. In addition to Mr. Blinken and Ms. Moffett, it includes Directors for Speechwriting Daniel Benjamin and Vinca Showalter, Associate Director for Communications Steven Naplan and Office Administrator Wendy Gray. # # #