| Press Statement Tom Casey, Deputy Spokesman Washington, DC October 4, 2006 Appointment of Ambassador Grover Joseph Rees as Special Representative for Social IssuesSecretary of State Condoleezza Rice has appointed Ambassador Grover Joseph Rees as Special Representative for Social Issues. As Special Representative, Ambassador Rees will work in the International Organizations Bureau, reporting to Assistant Secretary Kristen Silverberg, promoting the United States agenda on human dignity, including issues affecting vulnerable persons and families, within the United Nations system. Ambassador Rees will conduct diplomacy worldwide advancing the United States’ multilateral agenda promoting human dignity; enhancing maternal and child health; combating sexual violence; and addressing the exploitation of women and children. He will also support ongoing U.S. efforts on issues including orphans and other particularly vulnerable children. Ambassador Rees most recently served as United States Ambassador to East Timor. As Staff Director and Chief Counsel of the Subcommittee on International Organizations and Human Rights of the House International Relations Committee and as counsel to the full International Relations Committee, he contributed to the drafting and enactment of legislation promoting human rights and human dignity, including the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, Torture Victims Protection Act, and International Religious Freedom Act. He served as Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Texas, Special Counsel to the Attorney General of the United States, Chief Justice of the High Court of American Samoa, and General Counsel of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. He received his undergraduate degree from Yale University and his law degree from Louisiana State University Law School. He is married to Lan Dai Nguyen Rees and has one son, Grover Joseph Rees IV. Ambassador Rees is a native of Louisiana. 2006/892 |
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