Bush to nominate two, appoint nine, designate one 04/09/05

President George W. Bush today announced his intention to nominate two individuals, appoint nine individuals and designate one individual to serve in his Administration:

The President intends to nominate Emil M. Skodon, of Illinois, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the State of Brunei Darussalam. A career Senior Foreign Service Officer, Mr. Skodon currently serves as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Rome, Italy. He previously served as Foreign Policy Advisor to the Air Force Chief of Staff at the Pentagon. Prior to this position, Mr. Skodon served as Country Director for Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific Island Affairs in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. He earned his bachelor's degree and master's degree from the University of Chicago.

The President intends to nominate Eduardo Aguirre, of Texas, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Spain and to serve concurrently and without additional compensation as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Andorra. Mr. Aguirre currently serves as Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at the Department of Homeland Security. He previously served as Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. Prior to these positions, Mr. Aguirre worked for twenty-four years at Bank of America. He earned his bachelor's degree from Louisiana State University.

The President intends to appoint Robert B. Stephan, of Virginia, to be Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection, and Designate Acting Under Secretary for Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection at the Department of Homeland Security. Mr. Stephan currently serves as Special Assistant to the Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security. He previously served as Senior Director for Critical Infrastructure Protection in the Office of Homeland Security. Mr. Stephan earned his bachelor's degree from the United States Air Force Academy, his first master's degree from the University of Belgrano, and his second master's degree from Johns Hopkins University.

The President intends to appoint the following individuals to be Members of the Board of Trustees of the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation, for six-year terms expiring January 19, 2011:

E. Gordon Gee of Tennessee, Valentino F. DiGiorgio III of Pennsylvania, Kimberly A. Owens of Arizona, M. Joyce Van Schaack of California

The President intends to appoint George R. Nethercutt, Jr., of Washington, to be Chairman of the United States Section of the United States and Canada Permanent Joint Board on Defense.

The President intends to appoint Ruth Sharp Altshuler, of Texas, to be a Member of the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board, for a five-year term expiring March 8, 2010.

The President intends to appoint the following individuals to be Members of the Board of Directors of the Vietnam Education Foundation, for terms of three years:

Stephen Malcom Gillis of North Carolina, Con Gia Pham of California

# # # For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary April 8, 2005 Personnel Announcement