President Obama Appoints Additional Members to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council

The White House announced President Obama's appointment of five new members to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council on 28 October 2011.

Elie Wiesel, Roman Kent, Joseph Gutman, Howard Unger, and Clemantine Wamariya have all been designated as appointees for members.

President Obama said, "These fine public servants both bring a depth of experience and tremendous dedication to their new roles. Our nation will be well-served by these men and women, and I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come."

Elie Wiesel has served on the council since he was its founding chairman in 1980.  Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor, prolific author, and Nobel Prize winner, is currently a University Professor and the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University.  His fellow appointee Roman Kent is also a Holocaust survivor and President of Namor International Corporation.  Kent has produced a documentary and two books and serves on several foundation boards, including as President of the International Auschwitz Committee.

Joseph Gutman is the son of a Holocaust survivor and serves as the managing director of Grosvenor Capital Management and as an active member of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum's Chicago office.  Howard Unger, also the son of a Holocaust survivor, is the founder of the investment firm Saw Mill Capital and a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's Committee on Conscience.

Clemantine Wamariya is a survivor of the Rwandan genocide and lived in numerous refugee camps across Africa before coming to Chicago in 2000.  She is currently an undergraduate at Yale University and a well-known public speaker on the subjects of genocide intervention and human rights.

The United States Holocaust Memorial Council serves as the governing body of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC.  A full list of members can be found here.