THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
____________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                        October 7, 2009
 
President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts
WASHINGTON – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key administration posts:
  • David Huebner, Ambassador to New Zealand and the Independent State of Samoa
  • David D. Nelson, Ambassador to the Oriental Republic of Uruguay
President Obama said, "I am confident that these individuals will represent our nation well in these important roles.  I am grateful for their service and look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead."
President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals today:
David Huebner, Nominee for Ambassador to New Zealand and the Independent State of Samoa
David Huebner is the head of the China Practice and the International Disputes Practice at Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton, where he specializes in international arbitration and mediation.  Currently based in Shanghai, he has significant experience handling disputes in the Pacific Rim region.  Previously, he was a long-time partner and served as chairman at Coudert Brothers.  While a resident in California, Mr. Huebner chaired the California Law Revision Commission, served as president of the Los Angeles Quality & Productivity Commission, and taught courses in international business and intellectual property at the University of Southern California's Gould School of Law.  He has also guest lectured on international topics at several schools in the United States and abroad, and is licensed both as a solicitor in England & Wales and as an attorney in three U.S. jurisdictions.  He has been active in non-profits, community organizations, and professional associations such as the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, International Chamber of Commerce Commission on Arbitration, Los Angeles Committee on Foreign Relations, and Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).  A native of Pennsylvania, Mr. Huebner is a summa cum laude graduate of Princeton University, where he majored at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.  He is also a graduate of Yale Law School.
David D. Nelson, Nominee for Ambassador to the Oriental Republic of Uruguay
David D. Nelson has served as Acting Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Economic, Energy and Business Affairs (EEB) since January 2009 and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of EEB, with specific responsibility for International Finance and Development since June 2008.  In those functions, Mr. Nelson has been responsible for providing the Secretary of State with advice on a full range of international economic issues.  Mr. Nelson is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service.  He has previously served as Executive Assistant to the Under Secretary for Economic, Energy and Agricultural Affairs, as Director of the Office of Terrorism Finance and Economic Sanctions, Director of the Iraq Reconstruction Task Force, and as Director of the Office of Monetary Affairs.  He has also served on the National Security Council as Senior Coordinator for the Sea Island G-8 Summit, and has been posted abroad in Berlin, Madrid, Bonn, Quito, Montevideo and Merida.  Mr. Nelson is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, and earned a Masters Degree in Economics at the University of Maryland.
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