new nation. During a brief phone exchange on a gray January day, he handily talked this writer into saving up for a visit. (January means summer in Namibia; of course, we know what January means in Rochester.)

"Beautiful, it's beautiful here," he says, as phone reception clicks in and out. Namibia, in southwest Africa, won its independence from South Africa in 1990 and is fast becoming the preferred destination for ecotourists everywhere, Ward explains. "It's twice the size of California, with a population of less than two million," he says. "We have space, plenty of space."

That space is filled with topography that includes high-altitude savanna, and two--count 'em, two--deserts. The savanna attracts all manner of wildlife--antelope, wildebeest, lions, giraffes, rhinos, and zebras. Parks and game preserves, he says, framethe wildlife in stunning scenery. Desert sand dunes back right up to the ocean, where seals nestle. "And," he adds, with diplomatically concealed complacency, "we have 340 days of sunshine per year."

No stranger to the world of international affairs, George Ward has been in one form or another of government service since entering the Marine Corps upon his college graduation. In 1969, he joined the foreign service, acting as vice consul in Hamburg for two years.

Between Hamburg and Namibia, Ward has been a junior staff officer, traveled with Henry Kissinger, held a diplomatic post in Rome, and served in the State Department in Washington.

In 1990, just as Namibia was given its independence, Ward was deputy chief of mission in the U.S. Embassy in West Germany. He was sworn