| BIOGRAPHY Marilyn Ware Ambassador, Finland Term of Appointment: 02/07/2006 to present Ambassador Marilyn Ware was nominated by President Bush as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Finland on October 26, 2005. Following confirmation by the U.S. Senate on December 20, 2005, Ambassador Ware took the oath of office at the Department of State on February 7, 2006. Ambassador Ware arrived in Finland on February 24, 2006, and was accredited by Finland’s President Tarja Halonen on March 9, 2006.
Ambassador Ware served as Chairman of the Board of American Water Works Company, an NYSE listed-firm, from 1988-2003. She retired as Chairman upon the sale of the company to RWE AG of Germany. During Ambassador Ware’s chairmanship, the American Water Works Company was the largest water-utility holding company in the United States. She led the company in setting a growth and consolidation strategy and is also known for contributing to increased security within the company and in the national water sector. Ambassador Ware served on the Economic Advisory Board of RWE and as a member of the International Advisory Council of Thames Water, Plc., RWE’s global water subsidiary, the third largest water company in the world. Ambassador Ware has spent the majority of her adult life closely involved in the U.S. water sector. Ambassador Ware was the Honorary President of WaterAid America, an international charity dedicated to the provision of safe domestic water, sanitation systems and hygiene education in 15 countries. The Prince of Wales serves as the President and Patron of WaterAid in the United Kingdom. Ambassador Ware served on the Boards of Directors of The Vice President’s Residence Foundation, and of the International Republican Institute (IRI) chaired by Senator John McCain. She has also served on the Board of Trustees of The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research in Washington, DC, and was Vice-Chairman of the Board of the Eisenhower Fellowships Program in Philadelphia, which is chaired by Dr. Henry Kissinger. In 2002, Ambassador Ware chaired a comprehensive statewide study of early childhood care and education practices in Pennsylvania. The Task Force authored three studies and a series of recommendations on early childhood education and care. Ambassador Ware served as co-Chairman of Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge’s successful gubernatorial campaigns in 1993 and 1998. Ambassador Ware is a lifetime advocate of farmland and open space preservation, assistance for abused families and early childhood education and care. She is one of the founders of the Janus School, a private day school for children with learning disabilities, and a co-founder of the Lancaster Farmland Trust, the most successful farmland preservation trust in the nation. Ambassador Ware was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, PA in May of 2004. Released on March 14, 2006 |
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