  We report the discovery of a highly X-ray variable AGN, RX J2217.9-5941. This
object was bright during the ROSAT All-Sky Survey (RASS), during which a
decrease in the count rate by a factor of 12 was observed. It was found to be
much fainter in follow-up HRI observations and is therefore an X-ray transient
AGN candidate. On long time scales of years, its count rate decreased by a
factor of about 30 between the RASS and the ROSAT HRI and ASCA observations in
1998. Analysis of the ASCA data, complicated by source confusion and poor
statistics, tentatively indicates a steep spectrum in the faint state. There is
no evidence for variability among 5 optical observations of the object obtained
between 1992 and 1998. We discuss the variability of RX J2217.9-5941 and its
possible X-ray transient nature.
