THE PROCTER & GAMBLE COMPANY
NEWS RELEASE                                        One P&G Plaza
                                                    Cincinnati, OH 45202


                                                    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


              DE SOLE RESIGNS FROM P&G BOARD TO PURSUE NEW VENTURE
              ----------------------------------------------------

         CINCINNATI, April 15, 2005 - The Procter & Gamble Company [NYSE:PG]
announced today that it has accepted the resignation of Domenico De Sole, 61, as
a director of the company, effective immediately.

         "I have greatly valued my work as a P&G director over the past four
years," said Mr. De Sole. "I am stepping off the board so I can focus additional
time on a variety of businesses, including my new venture with Tom Ford and
Estee Lauder. It has been an honor to serve this great company, and I remain
confident about its future success."

         "Domenico De Sole has made important contributions to the company and
to the work of P&G's board, for which we are thankful," said A.G. Lafley, P&G
chairman, president and chief executive. "We have benefited greatly from his
wisdom and experience and wish him continued success."


FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
- --------------------------

         All statements, other than statements of historical fact included in
this release, are forward-looking statements, as that term is defined in the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In addition to the risks and
uncertainties noted in this release, there are certain factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by some of the
statements made. These include: (1) the ability to achieve business plans,
including with respect to lower income consumers and growing existing sales and
volume profitably despite high levels of competitive activity, especially with
respect to the product categories and geographical markets (including developing
markets) in which the Company has chosen to focus; (2) the ability to
successfully execute, manage and integrate key acquisitions and mergers,
including (i) the Domination and Profit Transfer Agreement with Wella, and (ii)
the Company's agreement to merge with The Gillette Company, including obtaining
the related required shareholder and regulatory approvals; (3) the ability to
manage and maintain key customer relationships; (4) the ability to maintain key
manufacturing and supply sources (including sole supplier and plant
manufacturing sources); (5) the ability to successfully manage regulatory, tax
and legal matters (including product liability, patent, and other intellectual
property matters), and to resolve pending matters within current estimates; (6)
the ability to successfully implement, achieve and sustain cost improvement
plans in manufacturing and overhead areas, including the Company's outsourcing
projects; (7) the ability to successfully manage currency (including currency
issues in volatile countries), debt (including debt related to the Company's
announced plan to repurchase shares of the Company's stock), interest rate and
certain commodity cost exposures; (8) the ability to manage the continued global
political and/or economic uncertainty and disruptions, especially in the
Company's significant geographical markets, as well as any political and/or
economic uncertainty and disruptions due to terrorist activities; (9) the
ability to successfully manage the pattern of sales, including the variation in
sales volume within periods; (10) the ability to successfully manage competitive
factors, including prices, promotional incentives and trade terms for products;
(11) the ability to obtain patents and respond to technological advances
attained by competitors and patents granted to competitors; (12) the ability to
successfully manage increases in the prices of raw materials used to make the
Company's products; (13) the ability to stay close to consumers in an era of
increased media fragmentation; and (14) the ability to stay on the leading edge
of innovation. For additional information concerning factors that could cause
actual results to materially differ from those projected herein, please refer to
our most recent 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K reports.

ABOUT P&G (NYSE:PG)
- -------------------

         Two billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around
the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality,
leadership brands, including Pampers(R), Tide(R), Ariel(R), Always(R),
Whisper(R), Pantene(R), Bounty(R), Pringles(R), Folgers(R), Charmin(R),
Downy(R), Lenor(R), Iams(R), Crest(R), Actonel(R), Olay(R), Clairol Nice `n
Easy(R), Head & Shoulders(R), and Wella. The P&G community consists of almost
110,000 employees working in over 80 countries worldwide. Please visit
http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its
brands.

                                      # # #

P&G MEDIA CONTACTS:
Terry Loftus - +1-513-983-9736

P&G MEDIA CENTER
In the US:  1-866-PROCTER or 1-866-776-2837
International: +1-513-945-9087

P&G INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACT:
Thomas Tippl - 513-983-2414