The new EU ambassadors. And the nominees are...
(BRUSSELS2) (update 4) As announced (1), Cathy Ashton must confirm the first appointments of EU ambassadors on Wednesday. Some indiscretions, yesterday, had made it possible to give some indications. Thing promised, thing due... Here is the complete list of the 28 named (out of the 31).
A fairly well-respected geographical balance but few women
Among the 28 named: 5 Spaniards, 3 French, 3 Irish, 2 Germans, 2 Belgians, 2 Italians, 2 Luxembourgers, 2 Dutch, 2 Poles, 1 Austrian, 1 Bulgarian, 1 Dane, 1 Lithuanian (already named)...
The task was not easy (2). But the geographical balance was rather respected. With a share of choice for the Spaniards, the French are not too badly off in numbers but in lower-ranking positions. On the other hand, 3 of the 5 "head" positions (China, Japan, South Africa, Brazil, n°2 USA) go to a German, an Austrian, a Dutchman. The Poles are rather particularly pampered with positions in Jordan and Korea, which are not minor. Proof that the intense lobbying, relayed by the press, and by the MEPs of the most important of the new Member States paid off... On the other hand, no Britons. An "unwritten pact" had been concluded with the arrival of Cathy Ashton as High Representative: no appointment of Britons in the early stages; the appointment of the ambassador to Sudan (2) was an exception, it was necessary to compensate for the unplanned departure of Brylle.
However, nationalities do not mean everything because many of the new ambassadors come from the institutions (essentially the European Commission but also the Council). Thus the 3 French or the 3 Irish named come from the European Commission.
It can also be noted that several of the former special representatives or personal representatives appointed by the former EU High Representative, Javier Solana, have been taken over.
On the other hand, when it comes to the balance between men and women, it's a little... unbalanced (as feared (1). We can notice the clear predominance of the male sex. Only 7 women crossed the barrier (barely a third). A little weak. In Cathy Ashton's defense, we can nevertheless notice that there are even fewer women ambassadors, in general, in the European diplomatic services. And there are still a few vacancies.
This list is indeed not complete. There are 6 posts missing. 3 posts have been reopened, and not the least: in Brazil and Washington (number 2), as well as in Baghdad (Iraq). Because the "procedure was unsuccessful" confirmed Patrick Child, the Commission's Director General for External Relations. For 3 other positions, there was a "little delay". In Switzerland (Geneva), the positions with the UN and the WTO have been split and therefore the call for candidates has been delayed. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the decision was made to "upgrade the post". It should be noted that the post of OHR/Special Representative will remain in office, an exception to the principle of merging the posts of Special Representative and EU Ambassador, set by the High Representative, due to the particular situation of Bosnia in terms of international.
A new call for applications was launched in August, but above all for positions of No. 2 or advisers (4).
La liste
Here is the list (I don't have all the biographical elements yet but it will come). It is listed in alphabetical order by country. According to the official list, diplomatic posts are arranged according to several levels of hierarchy. Alongside the first-category (China, Japan) and second-category (South Africa, Brazil, No. 2 in Washington) positions, the positions of 3e category (Uganda or Argentina for example) and 4e category (Haiti or Chad for example).
AFGHANISTAN, Kabul = Vygaudas UŠACKAS (Lithuanian - national). It is more of a formal confirmation than a new appointment. For bio details, read: Appointment of Lithuanian Usackas in Afghanistan confirmed. decision
SOUTH AFRICA, REP, Pretoria = Roeland VAN DE GEER (Netherlands - Council). Current EU Special Representative for the Great Lakes. Professor seconded from the Free University of Amsterdam to the University of Lesotho and to the Government of Lesotho. Entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1982, deputy director at the Center for Development Co-operation Services at the Free University of Amsterdam (1986 - 1989), Head of the South Africa "Development" Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1991 – 1994) after occupying that of North Africa (1990 – 1991). Ambassador to Mozambique (1994 - 1998), then Africa Director at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2002 - 2005) and after serving as Western Hemisphere Director (1998 – 2002), he is named Dutch Ambassador to Afghanistan (2006 – 2007), after an interlude as itinerant teacher (2005 - 2006).
ALBANIA, Tirana = Ettore SEQUI (Italy - national/Council). Former Special Representative in Afghanistan. Joined the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1985. Italian Ambassador in Kabul (2004-2008), Deputy Head of the Italian Embassy in Tirana (2000-2004), Advisor to the Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs (1998-2000), Advisor to the Permanent Representation to the UN in New York (1994-1998), Consul of Italy in Teheran (1989-1994), office of the Director General of Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1988-1989).
ANGOLA, Luanda = Javier PUYOL PINUELA (Spain - European Commission).
ARGENTINA, Buenos Aires = Alfonso DÍEZ TORRES (Spain - national), current Director General for Integration and Coordination of General and Economic Affairs of the EU at the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
FYROM, Skopje = Peter SØRENSEN (Denmark - Council). Former personal representative of Javier Solana in Belgrade. He knows the region particularly well. A graduate of the University of Aarhus, he worked in the team of Bodo Hombach, special coordinator of the stability pact for the Balkans, then was principal adviser to the UN special representative in Kosovo, from 2000 to 2002, Deputy Head of Pillar IV of Unmik (United Nations Mission in Kosovo) and Director of the European Office in Kosovo, from 2002 to 2006. He graduated in law from the University of Århus in Denmark, married and father of two children. Also read here
BANGLADESH, Dhaka = William HANNA (Ireland - European Commission), works in the Commission's DG Europaid, Head of Centralized Operations Unit for Asia and Central Asia.
BOTSWANA, Gaborone = Gerard McGOVERN (Ireland - European Commission), current Head of EU Delegation to South Africa.
BRAZIL, Brasilia = -- (reopened)
BURUNDI, Bujumbura = Stephane DE LOECKER (Belgium - national). Current Belgian Ambassador to Armenia, he has also been posted to Lebanon.
CHINA, Beijing (N°2) = Carmen CANO DE LASALA (Spain - national)
CHINA, Beijing = Markus EDERER (Germany - national). Head of Policy Planning at the Foreign Office in Berlin. Born in 1957, he was deputy director for political/economic analysis at the BND; Head of Cabinet of Bodo Hombach, the Special Coordinator of the Stability Pact for the Balkans, Deputy Head of the "South-Eastern Europe" Unit at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Spokesperson and Press Counselor "Central and Eastern Europe ", Counselor for Economic Affairs at the German Embassy in Moscow and Private Secretary to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Helmut Schäfer.
KOREA, Seoul = Tomasz KOZLOWSKI (Poland - European Commission). Born in 1958, trained as an orientalist, graduated from the Moscow Institute of International Relations (1984). He served in UN missions in Cambodia and South Africa. And he passed through the Polish embassies in Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Islamabad (as an ambassador). Back in Warsaw, he headed the Asia and Pacific department before leaving for Brussels. He joined the European Union when Poland joined in 2004, and worked as head of the Asia department in the planning and policy unit of High Representative Javier Solana. It is today Senior Advisor Asia and Latin America at DG Relex.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Washington (N°2) = -- (reopened)
GABON, Libreville = Cristina MARTINS BARREIRA (Portugal - European Commission)
GEORGIA, Tbilisi = Philip DIMITROV (Bulgaria - national). 55 years. Former prosecutor in Sofia (1979-1990), he led the first government of the post-communist era (1991-1992), and the Union of Democratic Forces UFD which wanted to turn the page on communism (1991-1994) he was then Bulgarian representative to the UN (1997-1998) and Bulgarian ambassador to the United States (1998-2001), he was several times in Georgia within the framework of exchanges to contribute to the establishment of the american NGO democracy NED-CLS and was OSCE Special Envoy for the Caucasus (2004).
GUINEA-BISSAU, Bissau = Joaquin GONZALEZ-DUCAY (Spain - European Commission)
HAITI, Port Au Prince = Lut FABERT-GOOSSENS (Luxembourg – European Commission). Currently Chargé d'Affaires of the EU Delegation in Haiti, she has particularly followed relief and recovery operations after the earthquake of early 2010. Joined the European Commission as a temporary agent in the DG Regional policy, it then moved to DG Education and then to DG Development. She is in charge of the Caribbean zone and Head of the “Overseas countries and territories” sector (OCT or OCT). (Photo credit: European Commission)
IRAQ, Baghdad = -- (reopened)
JAPAN, Tokyo = Hans Dietmar SCHWEISGUT (Austria - national). Current Ambassador Permanent Representative to the EU in Brussels. Schweisgut has one quality: he speaks excellent Japanese, according to my Austrian colleagues. He served as a young diplomat in Tokyo from 1987 to 1991, where he returned as ambassador in 1999, after a stint at the Ministry of Finance. He was also in China before landing in Brussels in 2007. (Photo credit: Austrian Foreign Ministry)
JORDAN, Amman = Joanna WRONECKA (Poland). Current Polish Ambassador to Morocco. 
Born in 1958, she is a specialist in Islam and Arab culture.Muslim. She graduated in Arab philology from the University of Warsaw (1981) and doctor of Arab-Muslim philosophy (1985) and has published several books including one on the Sufi movement and Ibn Arabi. She benefits from university scholarships in Algeria, Egypt and France. In 1993, she joined the Polish diplomatic service: in the Department of United Nations (1996-1998) then Africa and the Middle East (1998-1999) before going to Cairo as ambassador (1999-2003) then to Rabat (2005-2010). In the interim, she ran the Minister's secretariat (2003-2005). (photo credit: Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
LEBANON, Beirut = Angelina EICHHORST (Netherlands - European Commission)
MOZAMBIQUE, Maputo = Paul MALIN (Ireland - European Commission). Current Head of the EU Delegation to Botswana.
NAMIBIA, Windhoek = Raúl FUENTES MILANI (Spain - national/Council)
UGANDA, Kampala = Roberto RIDOLFI (Italy - European Commission)
PAKISTAN, Islamabad = Lars-Gunnar WIGEMARK (Sweden - national)
PAPUA NEW GUINEA, Port Moresby = Martin DIHM (Germany - European Commission)
PHILIPPINES, Manila = Guy LEDOUX (France - European Commission). Current Head of the EU Delegation to Taiwan.
SENEGAL, Dakar = Dominique DELLICOUR (Belgium - European Commission). Head of the Governance, Human Rights and Democracy Unit at DG Europaid. Background: Graduated in law from the Catholic University of Louvain and in journalism and social communication from the Free University of Brussels, with a stint at the Institute of International Relations in Geneva, she worked in international organizations in the field, for the United Nations and the European Cooperation Association. Joined the Commission in 1981, she was Head of Unit for Health in DG Development then Head of Cooperation at the EC Delegation in South Africa.
SINGAPORE, Singapore = Marc UNGEHEUER (Luxembourg - national). Current Ambassador of Luxembourg in Thailand with responsibility for the entire area (Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam).
CHAD, N'Djamena = Helene CAVE (France - European Commission). Current Head of the EU Delegation to The Gambia. Former DG Trade (particularly food products)
ZAMBIA, Lusaka = Gilles HERVIO (France - European Commission). Current Head of the EU Delegation to Senegal. An Africanist! Born on July 21, 1950, Gilles Hervio (a Breton!) has a long experience of Africa and development issues. Economist and Sociologist, he began his career by conducting socio-economic surveys in the villages of Nigeria, Liberia, Cameroon, Gabon and even in Saudi Arabia and by working on agricultural development projects. From 1986 to 1988, Gilles Hervio was the representative of the Statistics Office in Mali. He joined the European Commission in 1988 as an economic adviser in Côte d'Ivoire, then responsible for the DG Dev, in particular in charge of health issues and then budgetary aid. He has been in Senegal since 2006. (photo credit: European Commission)
Read also :
(1) Twenty new EU ambassadors soon to be appointed
(2) Recruit new EU ambassadors: "not easy"
(3) Dr Rosalind Marsden appointed EU Special Representative to Sudan
(4) Open positions in EU embassies
(updated for bios, Sept 15 at 20 p.m. and most recently Sept 27).
(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)