UCLA’s Schnabel chosen as U.S. liaison to the European Union

By Chris Young
Daily Bruin Reporter

Rockwell A. Schnabel, a member of the Board of Visitors for the
UCLA Anderson School, was appointed the United States Ambassador to
the European Union last week by President George W. Bush.

“I was highly honored and very much intrigued because I
have a great deal of interest in Europe,” said Schnabel, who
is preparing to fly to Belgium, the headquarters of the E.U.

The E.U. is an economic and political union of 15 European
nations that cooperate on common foreign and security policies,
according to the Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia.

Schnabel, the co-chair and founder of the venture capital firm
Trident Capital LLP, will work with E.U. officials as a liaison
between United States governmental departments, such as Commerce,
Agriculture and Justice, and their foreign counterparts in the
E.U.

Government officials said Schnabel was selected because of his
extensive financial and diplomatic experience.

“We work with the E.U. on all issues having to do with
trade and economic matters, democracy and peace around the world,
and global challenges such as crime, biotechnology, the H.I.V.
epidemic and the environment,” Schnabel said.

But the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the
Pentagon, plus their aftermath, will redefine his duties.

Schnabel said his initial work will be focused on anti-terrorism
and money laundering by terrorists.

“We have to destroy terrorism and address the issues that
create terrorism, such as the extreme poverty around the
world,” Schnabel said, noting that 25 percent of the
world’s population is living on under a dollar a day.

“There’s enormous work to be done,” he
said.

Schnabel has worked with and led investment and finance
companies since age 23 and has been in politics since the Nixon
administration.

He was the U.S. diplomat to Finland from 1986-89 and has held
various positions in the Department of Commerce from 1989-92.

Government officials said Schnabel was selected because of his
extensive financial and diplomatic experience.

“He will be an excellent representative of the U.S. to the
E.U. at this critical juncture in our relationship as we work
together toward a new global trade round and look to expand our
relationship with Europe,” President Bush said in a
statement.

Schnabel said the U.S. and E.U. have an important and dynamic
relationship, especially in trade and investment, because though
the E.U. has a substantially larger population than the U.S., the
gross domestic product of both nations are similar.

Schnabel, who also has a four-year relationship with the
Anderson School, did fund-raising and student advising while on the
Board of Visitors and has been a guest lecturer on campus.