Bush Backs Thornburgh for U.N. Post

President Bush is pushing former Atty. Gen. Dick Thornburgh for the top administrative job on the U.N. staff, U.S. officials said Saturday.

An American is expected to be named to the new post of undersecretary for administration and management and to play a crucial role in streamlining the bureaucracy of the world body. Bush, who has been trying to find a new spot in government for Thornburgh since his loss in the U.S. Senate contest in Pennsylvania in November, recently offered the spot to him, officials said.

Thornburgh could not be reached for comment.

Although the job was described as an important one, it might be seen as a step down from Thornburgh’s earlier posts, which include eight years as governor of Pennsylvania. It would also take his career, which has been largely devoted to the domestic and legal arena, in a whole new direction for which he has had little preparation.

But Administration officials said that Thornburgh, 60, who met personally with Bush and White House Chief of Staff Samuel K. Skinner in late December, is eager to return to public service.