Utah native going to Iraq

Native Utahn and longtime Washington insider Tom C. Korologos has been named senior counselor to L. Paul Bremer III, who arrived in Baghdad today to head the reconstruction effort in that country.

Korologos served presidents Richard M. Nixon and Gerald Ford as deputy assistant for legislative affairs and for nine years was an aide to former Utah Sen. Wallace F. Bennett. During the transition periods for both Ronald Reagan and George W.H. Bush, he was their liaison for congressional relations. He was senior adviser to Robert Dole in the latter's unsuccessful presidential bid in 1996. Most recently, he volunteered his services to the Bush-Cheney transition and managed the confirmation of Donald Rumsfeld as secretary of defense. His appointment to the Iraq assignment came through the Department of Defense.

A company Korologos helped to found, Timmons & Company, made the announcement. The firm has been a model for business-government relations, offering consulting services to high-profile politicians and lobbyists. Korologos could not be contacted by telephone early today.

He was born in Salt Lake City to Greek immigrant parents and graduated from West High School and the University of Utah. He was a sportswriter for the Salt Lake Tribune in 1961, when he left to join the David W. Evans advertising agency. When he was assigned as an employee of the ad firm to find a press relations assistant to Bennett, he looked over the prospects, then recommended himself, and his extensive career in Washington politics was launched.

He was Senate liaison to Nixon when the Watergate scandal erupted and remained friends with the fallen president after he resigned his office.

Recently, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the U. He earlier had been accorded a Distinguished Alumni award.

Korologos' new boss took over the task of piecing Iraq together today amid a change in key posts responsible for guiding it toward democracy.

"We intend to have a very effective, efficient and well-organized hand-over," Bremer said as he arrived at Baghdad International Airport.

Bremer traveled with Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the man Bremer is replacing as the senior American civilian in Iraq, retired Army Lt. Gen. Jay Garner.

"General Garner and I are pledged to working very close together," said Bremer. "I don't anticipate any problems with any of the changes that are ongoing."