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Maurice Sonnenberg to Receive Aztec Eagle Highest Honor Mexico Bestows on Non-Citizen

WASHINGTON, D.C. and LOS ANGELES, October 3, 2001 - Manatt Jones Global Strategies, LLC, a division of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, announced today that the Government of Mexico has awarded Maurice Sonnenberg the Aztec Eagle for his contributions to strengthen relations between the United States and Mexico. Mr. Sonnenberg, Senior International Advisor at ManattJones, will receive the award October 4 at the Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington, D.C.

"Mexico awards the Aztec Eagle to recognize exemplary conduct or deeds that benefit humanity or the country," said ManattJones Co-Chair James R. Jones, former Ambassador to Mexico who received the Aztec Eagle in 1997. "A non-Mexican citizen can receive no greater honor from the Mexican government."

Mr. Sonnenberg has been involved in issues affecting the Americas since the mid-1960s, when he served as Industrial/Economic Advisor to the U.S. Commission on the Status of Puerto Rico. He was appointed to the President’s Export Council during the Jimmy Carter administration, and to the U.S. Observer Team to observe Central American elections during the Ronald Reagan, George H. Bush and Bill Clinton administrations. As a member of the bipartisan team, he was present during Mexico’s 1994 and 2000 presidential elections and was part of the U.S. Presidential Delegation to the Inauguration of President Ernesto Zedillo in 1994 and President Vicente Fox in 2000.

Mr. Sonnenberg has served on the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board since 1993. He is the former Vice Chairman of the U.S. National Commission on Terrorism; a former Commissioner on the U.S. Commission on Protecting and Reducing Government Secrecy; and a former Senior Advisor to the U.S. Commission on the Roles and Capabilities of the U.S. Intelligence Community. In addition to his advisory work at ManattJones, Mr. Sonnenberg is Senior International Advisor for Bear Stearns & Co. Inc.