Former House Speaker Thomas Foley is President Clinton’s choice as ambassador to Japan, administration officials indicated Thursday.
The 68-year-old Democrat, a lawyer since his 1994 re-election defeat in Washington state, will be nominated to succeed former Vice President Walter Mondale in Tokyo, barring a last-minute snag in deliberations, the officials said.
Mondale left the critical diplomatic post in December.
Foley is among tentative Clinton choices for several vacant ambassadorships. The selections will be announced after background checks are completed and foreign capitals are notified.
One official, who asked not to be identified, said James Collins would be nominated to head the U.S. embassy in Moscow and John Kornblum is Clinton’s choice to be his envoy to Germany.
Collins was deputy chief of mission in Moscow during the turbulent times surrounding the collapse of the Soviet Union, and Kornblum has been deeply involved in efforts to achieve peace in Bosnia.
