01 October 1997
(Currently is Asst. SecState for Population/Refugees) (400) Washington -- President Clinton has named Phyllis Oakley, a career Senior Foreign Service officer, to be Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research. Oakley served as the State Department's deputy spokesman from November, 1986 to January, 1989, the first woman to do so. She is currently Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration. In her capacity as Assistant Secretary for Intelligence and Research, the White House said, Mrs. Oakley will be responsible for ensuring that the Secretary of State and other Department officials have the intelligence and analysis they need. She will also be responsible for coordination and liaison with the government-wide intelligence community. Following is the White House text: (begin text) THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary October 1, 1997 PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES PHYLLIS ELLIOTT OAKLEY AS ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR INTELLIGENCE AND RESEARCH AT THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE The President today announced his intent to nominate Phyllis Elliott Oakley, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, as Assistant Secretary for Intelligence and Research at the Department of State. Mrs. Oakley, of Louisiana, is a career Foreign Service Officer who has had broad experience in the field and in the State Department. She served as the Deputy Spokesman of the State Department from November 1986 to the end of January 1989, the first woman to hold this position. From 1989 until mid-1991, she was on loan to the Agency for International Development, working with the Afghanistan Cross-Border Humanitarian Assistance program in Islamabad, Pakistan. She was the State Department's Afghanistan Desk Officer from 1982 to 1985 and was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Regional Analysis in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research from 1991 to 1993. She is currently Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. Mrs. Oakley earned her B.A. degree magna cum laude with a Phi Beta Kappa key from Northwestern University in 1956 and an M.A. degree from the Fletcher School of International Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in 1957. In her capacity as Assistant Secretary for Intelligence and Research, Mrs. Oakley will be responsible for ensuring that the Secretary of State and other Department officials have the intelligence and analysis they need. She will also be responsible for coordination and liaison with the government-wide intelligence community. (end text)