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American-Samoan named to OIA post
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Posted on Apr 24 2002
U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton announced the appointment of lawyer David B. Cohen as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Insular Affairs of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
“David Cohen’s outstanding business skills and heritage make him especially qualified to serve the special needs of U.S. islands or insular areas,” Norton said. “Moreover, the Administration is upgrading this position from Director of the Office of Insular Affairs to Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior to demonstrate our strong commitment to resolving the tremendous, long-standing economic and infrastructure challenges facing the insular areas.”
Cohen will be the first American of Samoan descent and only the second Pacific Islander to head the office, as well as the first to be elevated to Deputy Assistant Secretary.
The Office of Insular Affairs is the Executive Branch’s liaison organization with four U.S. insular areas — Guam, the CNMI, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa. OIA also works with the three freely associated states: the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.
As deputy assistant secretary, Cohen will advise the Secretary on operational and administrative matters involving federal policy in the insular areas.
