ACCESSION NUMBER:379692

FILE ID:AEF404

DATE:02/16/95

TITLE:U.S. DIPLOMAT LAUDS ZIMBABWE'S CONSTRUCTIVE ROLE AS PEACEMAKER (02/16/95)

TEXT:*95021602.PFA  SUB:ZIMBABWE  CO:AMB. JOHNNIE CARSON/SENATE,#RF,WPL,(FR),HRsp

*AEF404   02/16/95

U.S. DIPLOMAT LAUDS ZIMBABWE'S CONSTRUCTIVE ROLE AS PEACEMAKER

(FR) (Johnnie Carson senate nomination hearing) (580)

WASHINGTON -- Zimbabwe is one "of the success stories" of southern Africa,

and it has played "a constructive role in trying to peacefully resolve some

of Africa's most contentious political crises," says Ambassador-designate

Johnnie Carson.



In remarks prepared for delivery at his confirmation hearing before the

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Subcommittee on Africa on February 16,

Carson added that Zimbabwe has actively supported U.N. peacekeeping efforts

in Somalia, Angola, and Rwanda, "and has agreed to contribute a battalion

of troops to a new U.N. force in Angola."



But equally important, the career U.S. diplomat told lawmakers, Zimbabwe's

president Robert Mugabe "has played a direct, thoughtful, and constructive

role in mediating the recent political crisis in Lesotho and in helping to

resolve political differences between the leaders of Renamo and Frelimo in

Mozambique."  Mugabe's talks with Mozambique's leaders, he pointed out,

"helped to ensure the timely and successful completion of the national

elections that took place in that country in late 1994."



Carson, who completed a three-year tour as ambassador to Uganda last

September, noted that Zimbabwe "had a positive influence on recent

developments" in neighboring South Africa, and that its "strong and

effective roles" in regional affairs "have contributed to the excellent

bilateral relations that exist between the United States and Zimbabwe."



In support of its own and Zimbabwe's economic development goals, he said the

United States has established an active bilateral assistance program, a

"small, but dynamic" Peace Corps presence, and a Fulbright educational

exchange program in Zimbabwe "that is the largest in sub-Saharan Africa."



"We also are working closely with Zimbabwe in regional and international

fora to consolidate the political, economic, and democratic gains that have

been achieved throughout southern Africa," he said.



Carson said that he is "genuinely optimistic about the prospects" of

strengthening ties between the United States and Zimbabwe.



During a 26-year diplomatic career and as a Peace Corps volunteer, Carson

said, he has lived and worked "in half a dozen countries in east, west, and

southern Africa."



Before becoming U.S. ambassador to Uganda in 1991, Carson served as deputy

chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Gaborone, Botswana (1986-90), and

as deputy political counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Lisbon, Portugal

(1982-86).



He was staff director of the Subcommittee on Africa in the House of

Representatives (1979-82), a member of the secretariat staff in the Office

of the Secretary of State (1978-79), and deputy chief of mission at the

U.S. Embassy in Maputo, Mozambique (1975-78).



From 1974 to 1975, Carson studied at the School of Oriental and African

Studies and at the London School of Economics.  His earlier assignments

included serving as a political officer at the U.S. Mission to the United

Nations (1973), as a political analyst in the bureau of intelligence and

1esearch at the State Department (1971-74), and as a consular and political

officer at the U.S. Embassy in Lagos, Nigeria (1969-71).  Before entering

the Foreign Service, he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Tanzania from

1965 to 1968.



Carson received his bachelor's degree from Duke University (1965), and his

master's degree from the University of London (1975).  Born in Chicago in

1943, Carson is married to the former Anne Diemer of Northbrook, Illinois.

They are the parents of three children.



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