AIT Press Release

PR-97-47     September 3, 1997

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AIT ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT OF RICHARD BUSH AS CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD AND MANAGING DIRECTOR OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE IN TAIWAN

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The Board of Trustees of the American Institute in Taiwan announces the appointment of Mr. Richard Bush as Chairman of the Board and Managing Director of the American Institute in Taiwan. Mr. Bush has had ties to Taiwan for over three decades. He lived in Taipei for ten months in 1975 collecting information for his doctoral dissertation. Taiwan has been a focus of his entire professional career: at the Asia Society, as a staff member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and in his most recent position on the National Intelligence Council.

When accepting his appointment, Mr. Bush made the following statement: "I am deeply honored to have been named Chairman and Managing Director of the American Institute in Taiwan. With that office comes a heavy responsibility that I will do my best to fulfill: furthering the multifaceted relations between the American people and the people of Taiwan."

Richard Bush was born in Chicago in November 21, 1947. As a boy, he Lived in the Philippines (1950-1955) and Hong Kong (1960-65), where his parents were missionaries, and in Dallas, Texas (1955-60). He attended college at Lawrence University and graduated with a degree in political science in June 1969. He studied Chinese politics and history at Columbia University from 1969 to 1977 (except for an 18-month period of service in the U.S. Army) and received his doctorate in political science in May 1978.

From 1977 to mid-1983 Mr. Bush worked on the staff of The Asia Society's China Council. From July 1983 to January 1993 he was a staff consultant on the House Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs, and advised the Chairman, Stephen J. Solarz, on issues regarding China, Taiwan, Japan, and Indochina, and the countries of the Western Hemisphere. From January 1993 to July 1995 Mr. Bush served on the Democratic staff of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs International Relations, working on Asia and Pacific issues. From July 1995 until his current appointment, Mr. Bush has been a member of the National Intelligence Council.

Mr. Bush is married to Martha Hedge Bush, who works for the Council of Chief State Schools Officers. They have two children, Sharmon Melissa Bush and Andrew Milton Bush, who in May 1997 graduated from the University of Maryland and Virginia Polytechnic University respectively.