TOM FRY'S STATEMENT/BIO (#30032)





                       Statement of
                       Thomas A. Fry
                       July 8, 1993 (#30032)

    I am profoundly grateful to President Clinton and Secretary
Babbitt for entrusting me with what I consider to be one of the
most challenging assignments in the Department of the Interior.  I
actively sought this assignment because I believe my combination of
private and government experience can best be put to use here.

    The Minerals Management Service plays a pivotal role in this
country's plans for economic recovery.  Success in our dual mission
of administering federal offshore mineral programs and managing the
federal and Indian mineral royalty program is critical to meeting
the environmental and energy goals of the Clinton administration.

    My style and my preference is to manage through building
consensus.  This requires personnel who are intelligent and
accustomed to teamwork.  The managers and staff of MMS meet both
requirements, and are exceptionally dedicated as well.  I hope that
I am able to bring a fresh approach to the concerns and
opportunities they face, and that we, together, can make this
agency the catalyst for positive change that it can be.  Above all,
I will do my best to assure that MMS performs it mission with
excellence and with a profound regard for environmental integrity
in every phase of our operations.

                           -MMS-


BIOGRAPHY


                          TOM FRY
                         Director
                Minerals Management Service
              U.S. Department of the Interior


    Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt designated Tom Fry as
Director of the Minerals Management Service on July 8, 1993.  In
that capacity, Fry is responsible for the exploration, development
and production of oil, natural gas and other minerals deposits on
the Nation's outer continental shelf and for the collection of
revenues for minerals development on Federal and Indian lands.

    Prior to his current appointment, Fry was Vice President of a
Dallas natural gas processing and transmission company.  He was
responsible for analysis and legal review of all aspects of the
firm's business activities, and for the operation of a natural gas
processing plant.  He was active in the Clinton-Gore campaign
effort in 1992, and was formerly in private law practice in Dallas.

    Fry's government experience includes a posting as Regional
Counsel for the U.S. Department of Energy in Dallas, where he
supervised twenty-five attorneys involved in every phase of the oil
and gas industry.  He also served as Director of the Houston Field
Office of the Economic Regulatory Administration, supervising some
60 auditors working to enforce federal price controls.

    He has also served as General Counsel and Assistant to the
President of Eddie Parker Interest, Inc., a multi-million dollar
Dallas corporation involved in imports, manufacturing and retail
businesses.  For more than two years he was an Assistant Attorney
General of the State of Texas, where he was Assistant Chief of the
state's Anti-Trust Consumer Protection program.  He supervised five
regional offices and developed consumer and anti-trust legislation
and litigation.  He was also a part-time Professor at the
University of Texas at Dallas, where he taught business law.

    Fry served on active duty in the U.S. Army for more than two
years, attaining the rank of Captain.  He was Assistant Team
Commander of a U.S. Nike Hercules unit supporting NATO forces, and
was later assigned to develop policy and administer the Special
Ammunition Release Program for ninety-six units in four European
countries.

    Fry received an Army Commendation Medal.  He has also been
recognized for special efforts by the U.S. Department of Energy.
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