The Asia Foundation Welcomes New Chairman of the Board

SAN FRANCISCO--(Business Wire)--
The Asia Foundation, the premier non-profit organization devoted
to Asia's development since 1954, announced today that Ambassador
Michael H. Armacost has been appointed as Chairman of the Board of
Trustees. Ambassador Armacost, currently a Shorenstein Distinguished
Fellow at Stanford University's Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research
Center, served for 24 years in government, including as undersecretary
of state for political affairs and as ambassador to both Japan and the
Philippines, and subsequently was president of the Brookings
Institution in Washington, D.C. He has been on the Foundation's Board
since 1994, as Vice Chairman since 2002, and succeeds Mr. William L.
Ball, III, former Secretary of the Navy, who served as Chairman since
2002.

Currently Ambassador Armacost is serving again as co-chairman of
the 2008 "America's Role in Asia," a program of The Asia Foundation
which will present recommendations for U.S. policy on Asia for the
next U.S. Administration. The report is being prepared by a
distinguished group of Americans and Asians. Fellow Asia Foundation
Trustee J. Stapleton Roy serves as co-chairman of this effort as they
did for a similar effort in 2004.

In addition to his work at Stanford, Ambassador Armacost is
chairman of the Carleton College Board of Trustees and is a Director
of USEC, Inc. and AFLAC, Inc. He has authored or edited four books,
the most recent of which analyzed America's alliances in Northeast
Asia.

The Asia Foundation also announced two new Vice-Chairpersons of
the Board, Dr. Harry Harding and Ms. Missie Rennie.

About The Asia Foundation

The Asia Foundation is a non-profit, non-governmental organization
committed to the development of a peaceful, prosperous, just, and open
Asia-Pacific region. The Foundation supports programs in Asia that
help improve governance, law, and civil society; women's empowerment;
economic reform and development; and international relations. Drawing
on more than 50 years of experience in Asia, the Foundation
collaborates with private and public partners to support leadership
and institutional development, exchanges, and policy research.

With a network of 17 offices throughout Asia, an office in
Washington, D.C., and its headquarters in San Francisco, the
Foundation addresses these issues on both a country and regional
level. In 2007, the Foundation provided more than $68 million in
program support and distributed 974,000 books and educational
materials valued at $33 million throughout Asia.

The Asia Foundation is not an endowed organization, and depends
solely on monetary contributions from donors to accomplish its work.

For more information, please visit http://www.asiafoundation.org.

The Asia Foundation
Amy Ovalle, 415-743-3340
aovalle@asiafound.org

Copyright Business Wire 2008