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11 July 2003

William B. Taylor Appointed New U.S. Coordinator for Afghanistan

Will oversee all aspects of U.S. policy toward Afghanistan

Following is the text of a July 10 media note from the State Department announcing the appointment of William B. Taylor as the new Afghanistan coordinator:

(begin text)

Media Note
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
July 10, 2003

Coordinator for Afghanistan William B. Taylor, Jr.

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell has appointed Ambassador William B. Taylor, Jr. as the new Afghanistan Coordinator at the U.S. Department of State. Ambassador Taylor served most recently in Afghanistan as the Special Representative for Donor Assistance to Afghanistan. Working closely with the Afghan government and international donors out of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Ambassador Taylor facilitated the flow of international assistance to Afghanistan and encouraged additional donations. This assistance has facilitated the return of 2 million Afghan refugees and helped restore critical services such education and health care, providing over 10 million textbooks and vaccinating over 4 million children against measles. In addition, this aid helped restore agriculture, benefiting an estimated 140, 000 farmers and provided support grants for over 80 infrastructure projects.

Before his work on Afghanistan, Ambassador Taylor served as Coordinator of U.S. Assistance to Europe and Eurasia in the U.S. Department of State. Ambassador Taylor had previously served as the Special Deputy Defense Advisor to the U.S. Ambassador to NATO, William Taft. Ambassador Taylor has also directed an in-house Defense Department think tank at Fort McNair in Washington, DC. Earlier he served for five years on the staff of Senator Bill Bradley.

Ambassador Taylor will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of United States policy toward Afghanistan. His appointment comes at a critical time in Afghanistan s political development and economic reconstruction. In the next 12 months the Afghan Constitutional Loya Jirga will ratify a new Afghan constitution (October 2003) and national elections are scheduled to take place in June 2004.

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(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)