The outgoing US Consul General to Bermuda, Lawrence Owen, could soon be taking Bermuda's case to the US Congress.

On Friday Bermuda insurance giant ACE announced that they had hired Mr. Owen who would head their US insurance subsidiary on public affairs.

Mr. Owen will now be in a position to use his heavy-weight US political allies to lobby the US Congress on behalf of Bermuda if the Bermuda Tax issue rears its head once again.

Mr. Owen, an appointee of former US President Bill Clinton, left Bermuda on Friday.

In March he will join ACE INA in the new post of Senior Vice President for External Affairs.

He said : "I think it would be fair to say that we are very proud of the working relationship ACE has with the government (US), the cooperative partnership that they have. That philosophy applies to this (Bermuda Tax) issue as it does to a lot of others.'' Last year there were moves in Congress to bring in laws to stop insurance and reinsurance companies using a so-called "tax loophole'' to evade US income taxes.

But a spokeswoman for ACE warned against presuming the matter would definitely come up again in the US Congress.

She said: "The 106 Congress is no longer, and we are into early days of the 107th.

"No one knows exactly what direction this is going, so obviously, ACE keeps a vigilant watch, as does XL, as does the Bermuda Government.

"We do not want you to get the impression that Larry is going out to actively or proactively lobby on ACE's behalf unless there is a need.'' This public affairs post will include any lobbying of the US Government on behalf of ACE and its interests.

And as part of his post he is expected to lobby in Washington on behalf of Bermuda's insurance industry.

When asked on Friday if he would be dealing with the "Bermuda Tax'' issue, he said: "Oh I am sure I will. Evidently the proponents of some change in US law believe they should re-raise the issue in this new congress and with the new administration and so consequently I am sure we will be involved in addressing it.'' When asked if he would be directly involved in lobbying, he said: "Well I will certainly be overseeing it and I am sure I will be called upon to contact some of the people that I have relationships with from my time in Michigan and in Washington before. So yes.'' Mr. Owen has served as US Consul General to Bermuda since his appointment by Clinton in 1999. Before his appointment to Bermuda, Mr. Owen had been a candidate for Governor of Michigan in 1998 and previously had worked with former Michigan Governors William Milliken and James Blanchard.

He also served as the state's Chief Deputy Commissioner of Insurance. From 1981 to 1997 he was a senior partner of Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, Michigan's largest and oldest law firm.

Mr. Owen's duties will go further than just lobbying. He said he would be involved with: "The whole strategic planning function for how the company communicates with all the audiences that are interested in the company and that the company hopes to do business with.

"And then in addition to that I will be part of the overall strategic planning function in ACE and in some as yet undetermined special projects.'' Mr. Owen will be based in Philadelphia, but will be coming back to Bermuda on a regular basis with his new post.

When asked what attracted him to the job, he said: "One of the great benefits of being here as Consul General as a guest of Bermuda and a very interested observer is I get the opportunity to really see Ace and its exciting growth.

"It has really been phenomenal when you step back and think about it, in just in 15 years from a standing start, Ace has grown into a major player in the international market place.

"So I am very impressed in the company and its business progress. But more importantly to me is I am very impressed by the people who work in Ace. They are uniformly in my experience good people, great people, creative people, inventive people. The kind of people that both give you optimism about the future of the company, but also the kind of people you really want to work with.'' He will spend his first few months in the job travelling around the world to find out more about the company's operations first hand.

"From there I will have to determine what, in my judgment, needs to be done in order to go forward with the company's business plan.'' BUSINESS BUC