Dennis E. Wheeler

DENNIS E. WHEELER is the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive
Officer of Coeur d’Alene Mines Corporation, the world’s largest primary
silver producer, as well as a significant producer of gold,
headquartered in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho with mining interests in Nevada,
Idaho, Alaska, Chile, Argentina and Bolivia. The company is recognized
as an industry leader in environmental stewardship and safety in the
United States and Chile. Mr. Wheeler serves on the Board of Directors
and is Chairman of the Audit Committee of Sierra Pacific Resources,
engaged in energy and utility services. He is a former President and a
current member of the Executive Committee of the Silver Institute, the
international organization of miners, refiners, fabricators and
manufacturers, and he also serves on the Board of Directors of the
National Mining Association. In June 2000 he was the first recipient of
the International Society of Mine Safety Professionals’ Leadership Award
for his leadership role to improve safety. Mr. Wheeler is a recipient of
the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers
Environmental Conservation Distinguished Service Award, that
association’s highest environmental award. Mr. Wheeler is the newly
named Chairman of the Center for the New West, an integrated political
and issue advocacy institute. He is a member of the National
Environmental Education and Training Foundation’s Board of Trustees and
a member of the Board of Governors of the Alaska SeaLife Center, the
world’s first marine science facility. In addition, Mr. Wheeler serves
on the Board of the Idaho Chapter of the Nature Conservancy. He is a
graduate of the University of Idaho, with degrees in both Business and
Law. He practiced law for 12 years in Wallace, Idaho, upon graduation.
Mr. Wheeler has served the State of Idaho as President of the State
Board of Education and is a past Chairman of the University of Idaho
College of Law Advisory Council. In 2000, Mr. Wheeler was one of 13
charter members of the ‘Friends of West Point’. In May 1998 he was
inducted into the University of Idaho’s Alumni Hall of Fame and he is
also the recipient of the ‘Significant Sig’ award of Sigma Chi
Fraternity.