WASHINGTON, May 13; Richard Celeste, a former governor of Ohio state and an old India hand, is strongly tipped to be the new American envoy to India, replacing Frank Wisner.

Celeste's name tops a list that includes former Pennsylvania Senator Frank Wofford and career diplomat Tony Quainton.

His selection would mark the return of political appointee to the post in New Delhi, which has lately been occupied by career diplomats.

Both Wisner and his predecessors, right back into the 1980s, were ranking career diplomats -- foreign service officials -- from the state department. The last political appointee to New Delhi was Robert Goheen (President of Princeton University) during the Carter era.

In fact, till that time, political appointees were the norm. "If Dick Celeste's appointment comes through, it would be quite a logical outcome. His career as a governor of Ohio will make good background for the post," said Dennis Kux, who has chronicled Indo-Us ties in his book Estranged Democracies.

Celeste is a top Democrat Party functionary and was governor of the politically weighty Ohio state from 1982 to 1990. He later headed President Clinton's health care reform team.

More importantly, the politico is an old India hand. He was in New Delhi between 1963-67 as a special assistant to then US ambassador Chester Bowles. A strong votary of accelerating trade with India, he also led one of the first US trade missions to India in 1990, when New Delhi was still an unfashionable destination.

Celeste graduated from Yale and worked on J F Kennedy's presidential campaign before leaving for Oxford as a Rhodes scholar. While at Oxford, he was known as a peacenik and became involved with the movement against nuclear testing.

He returned to the US and took his first job with the Peace Corps before landing the special assistant's job in New Delhi. He apparently considers Chestor Bowles his mentor.

On his return again to US in 1967, he went into business with his father, building houses for senior citizens.

After his first failed bid in 1978, President Carter appointed him director of the Peace Corps, where he was responsible for programmes in 53 countries.Politicos from the Ohio region say his eight-year stint as governor ended on an explosive note when four days before leaving office in 1991, he decided to commute the executions of eight prisoners on Ohio's death row. Celeste, who has long opposed capital punishment, ("We play God when taking people lives") said later that he wanted to provoke a debate on death penalty issue.

After running an unsuccessful campaign for the Clinton health care reform plan in 1993-94, Celeste appeared to be intent on contesting for Ohio governor again in 1998-when present Republican Governor Voinovich's term ends. Polls in the state however,have shown him trailing the possible Republican contender Bob Taft by a slim margin. New Delhi may be a better option.

If Celeste comes to India, he will generate considerable enthusiasm on the trade front. He vigorously supported Governor Voinvoich's trip to India last year although India figures way down - 30th-in Ohio's export destinations.

The lake area also has a big Indian population, particularly in the Cleveland-Toledo region.

Meanwhile, ambassador Wisner is leaving the foreign service this summer to join the private sector. He is said have accepted an offer from the American Insurance Group, one of the American's top insurance firms.

Wisner was originally tipped for ambassadorship to Paris but like many candidates sounded out for posting in some of Europe's most expensive capitals, he too decided to opt for a more lucrative private sector job.

American envoys are not very highly paid and there have been complaints that ambassadorships to cities like Paris or London and Vienna is best suited for those well-heeled.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.