WASHINGTON’: The administration has decided to name Terence Todman, 4 black career Foreign Service officers to be the next U.S ambassador to South Africa, administration source said Friday.

A senior administration official! Told a group of reporters that naming a black envoy “does have the potential to make it abundantly clear in a very tangible way what kind of a society we are”,

‘The official said that President Reagan and Secretary of State George Shultz “want to move on this very soon

Officials said the administration decided to select a career officer to avoid a similar controversy to the one that followed the tentative choice of Robert Brown.

Todman is the highest ranking black American in the Foreign Service.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, Richard Lugar, Rind, told President Reagan Monday that the administration’s candidate “should be some one of the caliber of Terence Todman”.

Todman has been called back from his post as US. Ambassador Denmark and has been at the State ‘Department this week on “consultations”.

A career foreign service officer, chard Viet’s, former ambassador to Jordan, had been in line for the Pretoria post, but he was passed over when the White House decided that its representative should be black to send a signal to the white minority government in Pretoria,

Reagan has been harshly criticized in Congress this week for ‘not announcing any new attempts

to pressure the South African government into easing its strict policy of racial segregation.

The move to name Todman appears to be the latest in a series ‘of attempts to mollify congressional critics and slow the rush toward approval of stiff economic sanctions and the tactic appeared to be working. South African critics in the Senate have agreed to put off consideration of their sanctions package while they wait and see what actions the president will take.

The South African government has not raised any objection to the idea of a black US envoy although it has not yet given specific ‘agreement to Todman, as required by the Vienna treaty governing diplomatic relations between stats.

Todman’s confirmation hearings would not take place until after Labor Day, although the administration will ask for an accelerated confirmation because of the critical situation in South Africa.

A senior official said that it has been agreed that Nickel, who has been in the post for four and a half years, should relinquish the job.

Nickel, a journalist by profession, has told friends privately that he was appalled by the administration’s handling of naming his successor.

Todman, 60, was born in the Virgin I stands, and joined the Foreign Service in 1952. As a junior officer he served in India, Lebanon, Tunisia and Rome.

He has served as U.S. ambassador Chad, Guinea, Costa Rica, Spain and Denmark and was assistant secretary of State for Latin America during the Carter administration but was removed in a policy dispute with human rights activities in the Carter administrations who felt that Todman was not tough enough on right-wing dictators in the western hemisphere.

Mrs., Rosalynn Carter, a personal friend of Todman’s, defended him in the policy dispute for his “balanced approach” to human rights, and he was given the post of ambassador.

Article extracted from this publication >> August 1, 1986