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Philip Merrill today was sworn in by Vice President Dick Cheney as president and chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank). Merrill, a publisher and diplomat with broad experience in both the public and private sectors, was nominated to head Ex-Im Bank by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Phil Merrill has been a friend of mine for a long time, Cheney said. He has had a distinguished and successful business career as well as holding a number of vital assignments for the White House and Department of Defense. I know he will be a superb chairman of the Bank.

Ex-Im Bank helps U.S. companies compete abroad by shouldering the commercial and political risks of financing their export sales to growing markets, Merrill said. We are committed to helping U.S. businesses large and small sustain jobs by tapping these opportunities.

Before joining Ex-Im Bank, Merrill was chairman of the board of Capital-Gazette Communications, Inc., which publishes The Washingtonian magazine, The Annapolis Capital and four other Maryland newspapers.

From 1990 to 1992 he served in Brussels as Assistant Secretary-General of NATO. From 1983 to 1990 he served on the Department of Defense Policy Board, and from 1981 to 1983 he was counselor to the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy. In 1988 the Secretary of Defense awarded him the Medal for Distinguished Service, the highest civilian honor given by the department.

Merrill has represented the United States in negotiations on the Law of the Sea Conference, the International Telecommunications Union, and various disarmament and exchange agreements with the former Soviet Union. He is a former special assistant to the Deputy Secretary of State and has worked in the White House on national security affairs. He has served in six previous administrations.

Merrill has served as a trustee of the Aspen Institute, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Johns Hopkins University, and the Corcoran Gallery of Art. He was vice chairman of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments and a U.S. Director of the International Institute of Strategic Studies. He has served on the Department of Defense Policy Board and the Defense Business Board. Among other organizations, Merrill served on the University of Maryland Board of Visitors and on the boards of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and the Advanced Physics Laboratories. He has established the Capital Gazette Foundation and the Merrill Family Foundation.

Merrill graduated from Cornell University and the Harvard Business School's Program for Management Development. He and his wife Ellie have three children, Douglas, Cathy and Nancy.

Merrill will serve the remaining portion of the four-year term left vacant by the death earlier this year of John Robson. The term expires January 20, 2005.

Ex-Im Bank is an independent U.S. government agency that helps finance the sale of U.S. exports, primarily to growth markets throughout the world, by providing loans, guarantees, and insurance. In fiscal year 2002, Ex-Im Bank supported approximately $13 billion of U.S. exports worldwide.