Statement By Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff On The Appointment Of Ambassador Marisa R. Lino As Assistant Secretary For International Affairs

Release Date: July 26, 2007

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010

I am pleased to announce the career appointment of Ambassador Marisa R. Lino as Assistant Secretary for International Affairs for the Department of Homeland Security. Marisa brings considerable experience in foreign policy and high-level international negotiations to my senior management team.

During nearly 30 years of distinguished service in the Foreign Service, Marisa held overseas positions in Albania, Iraq, Italy, Pakistan, Peru, and Syria. She served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Albania from1996 to 1999. Marisa also served as the senior negotiator for base access and burden sharing in the Bureau of Political Military Affairs at the Department of State.

After her foreign service career, Marisa spent three years as the director at the Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies, Bologna Center. She holds a master’s degree in international affairs from George Washington University, where she was the first female student from the state of Oregon to earn a Scottish Rite Fellowship. She has also done graduate work at the University of Zagreb, and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

I commend Marisa for her continued service to the American public, and look forward to her contributions to the safety and security of the homeland by advancing our international partnerships.

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This page was last modified on July 26, 2007