January 30, 1987
The President today announced his intention to nominate Jack F. Matlock, Jr., a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Career Minister, as Ambassador to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. He would succeed Arthur Adair Hartman.
Since 1983 Mr. Matlock has been Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and Senior Director of European and Soviet Affairs on the National Security Council staff. Before assuming these duties, he was U.S. Ambassador to Czechoslovakia from November 1981. Mr. Matlock earlier served three tours of duty at the American Embassy in Moscow: as Charge d'Affairs in 1981; deputy chief of mission, 1974 - 1978; and as consular officer and political officer specializing in Soviet internal affairs, 1961 - 1963. He also was Director of the Office of Soviet Union Affairs in the Department of State, 1971 - 1974; and he worked as a research analyst on Soviet affairs in the Department, 1956 - 1958. Mr. Matlock worked as an editor and translator on the Current Digest of the Soviet Press, 1952 - 1953. He joined the faculty of Dartmouth College in 1953 as instructor in Russian language and literature, where he stayed until his entry into the Foreign Service in 1956.
Mr. Matlock spent 7 years in Africa, serving as political officer at the U.S. Embassy in Accra, Ghana, 1963 - 1966; principal officer at our consulate in Zanzibar, 1967 - 1969; and as Charge d'Affairs and deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. His earlier Foreign Service assignments included a tour as consular officer in Vienna, Austria, 1958 - 1960. Mr. Matlock was deputy director of the Foreign Service Institute, 1979 - 1980; and visiting professor of political science and diplomat in residence at Vanderbilt University during the 1978 - 1979 academic year.
He graduated from Duke University (A.B., 1950) and Columbia University (M.A., 1953). His foreign languages are Russian, French, German, Swahili, and Czech. Mr. Matlock is married to the former Rebecca Burrum, and they have five children. He was born October 1, 1929, in Greensboro, NC.