Washington, D.C.
Office of Research and Planning
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
April 22, 2002
HABBO
G. FOKKENA APPOINTED U.S. TRUSTEE FOR
IOWA,
MINNESOTA, NORTH DAKOTA, SOUTH DAKOTA
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Habbo G. Fokkena
has been appointed United States Trustee for Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota,
and South Dakota, it was announced today by Lawrence Friedman, Director of the
Executive Office for United States Trustees. Fokkena will take office May 6,
2002.
"I am very pleased that Attorney
General Ashcroft has selected Habbo Fokkena to lead the United States Trustee
team in Region 12," Friedman stated in announcing the appointment. "Habbo will
bring new leadership and a wealth of practical experience to the many demands
of this position."
"I am honored by the opportunity
to serve as United States Trustee," Fokkena stated. "I have great respect for
the very dedicated professionals in the United States Trustee offices throughout
Region 12. I look forward to working with them, under Director Friedman, to
achieve the Attorney General's goal of enhancing the integrity and efficiency
of the bankruptcy system."
Prior to his appointment, Fokkena was a
sole practitioner in Clarksville, Iowa, specializing in financial and bankruptcy
litigation and labor arbitration. He administered nearly 6,000 Chapter 7 bankruptcy
cases as a panel trustee for the Northern District of Iowa from 1987 to 2002,
and has held positions as City Attorney for Clarksville, Bristow, and Plainfield,
Iowa, and County Attorney for Butler County, Iowa. He served in the United States
Army from 1967 to 1969.
Fokkena is a member of the American Bankruptcy
Institute and the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees, and has been
appointed numerous times as a labor panel member for the American Arbitration
Association, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the Iowa Public
Employment Relations Board, and other arbitration panels. He is also a frequent
speaker on bankruptcy and arbitration issues.
Fokkena received his law degree in 1975
from the University of Iowa College of Law in Iowa City, and his undergraduate
degree in 1972 from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
The United States Trustee Program
is a component of the Justice Department that protects the integrity of the
bankruptcy system by overseeing case administration and litigating to enforce
the bankruptcy laws.
The Program has 21 regions and
95 field offices. Region 12, which consists of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota,
and South Dakota, is headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with additional offices
in Des Moines, Minneapolis, and Sioux Falls, S.D.
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