White House Drug Chief of Staff to Spend Year in Bosnia.
 
                  Executive Office of the President
             Office of National Drug Control Policy

      For Immediate Release:  Wednesday, February 7, 1996

      Contact Bob Weiner or Alexis Revis-Yeoman (202) 395-6618

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        White House Drug Chief of Staff to Spend Year in Bosnia;  
   Wasserman To Command 1,750 U.N. Police Monitors Working to   
                  Establish Civilian Policing Capacity
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      Robert Wasserman, Chief of Staff for the White House Office
of National Drug Control Policy, has resigned his post effective
February 9 to take operational command of the 1,750 person United
Nations International Police Task Force in Bosnia.  Wasserman, who
will have the title of Deputy U.N. Police Commissioner, will oversee
the deployment of the force of U.N. police monitors and the building
of a civilian policing capacity made up of the current 47,500 Bosnian
police officers.  Following briefings at U.N. headquarters in New York
City, Wasserman leaves next week for a year in Bosnia under the
auspices of the United Nations.

      Wasserman began his ONDCP service under Former National
Drug Police Director Dr. Lee P. Brown in June, 1994.  Wasserman
had previously worked with Brown in developing community policing
initiatives in New York, Houston, and Atlanta.  Wasserman is a well-
known expert on police management and has previously counseled a
number of European governments in development of democratic
policing systems. In 1993, Wasserman participated in a mission in
Romania that reviewed policing operations and structures, resulting in
major changes in that country's policing strategy for dealing with
tensions between local ethnic groups.

      Wasserman said his aim is "to support development of a
strengthened democratic policing capacity with full participation by the
various communities now populating the country."  He noted that "only
with a well-functioning democratic police system that has the
confidence of the people will the multinational peacekeeping forces,
including United States troops, be able to leave Bosnia and peace
remain."

      As Chief of Staff at the White House Office of National Drug
Control Policy, Wasserman was responsible for the day to day
management of this White House office.  He oversaw the development
of the most recent National Drug Control Strategy, and worked on
several important initiatives that increased the impact of international
and domestic counterdrug policies.

      Prior to his appointment as Chief of Staff, Wasserman was a
Research Fellow at Harvard University's Kennedy School of
Government and a convener of the Executive Sessions on Community
Policing held there.  He also served as President of a Massachusetts
police management consulting firm focusing on community policing
implementation in America's larger communities.  He previously served
as Director of Public Safety for the Massachusetts Port Authority; 
Senior Assistant to the Chief of Police of the Houston Police
Department, Director of Training and Education of the Boston Police
Department and later as Operations Assistant to the Police
Commissioner in Boston.

      Wasserman is a resident of West Tisbury, Martha's Vineyard,
Massachusetts.