Three other known department directors in the diplomatic service
Cathy Ashton, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the EU, is due to announce shortly three other appointments to the European diplomatic service (EEAS) to complement the two previous appointments (1). If the French Mingarelli is present in charge of the Middle East department, on the other hand the Spaniard Dupla del Moral like the German Wiegand no longer appear. And it is a Briton and a Romanian who are appointed respectively to the Africa and Asia departments. There will still be the appointment of the director of the "horizontal / thematic" department (which has been reopened for the selection procedure) so that the board of directors of the diplomatic service is complete.
Viorel Isticioaia-Budura (Romania): director of the Asia department
It is a sinologist, a career diplomat, who is appointed to this post. Until now, Isticioaia-Budura was Romanian Ambassador to China. Born in July 1952, graduated in philosophy and history from the Faculty of Bucharest (1972-1978), and in Chinese language and literature from the University of Nanjing in China, he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1978 (NB: under the communist era), took up his first outside post in Beijing in 1985, was chief of staff at the general secretariat of the government from 1990. He was then posted successively to Tokyo (1992-1996), to London (1998-2000), in South Korea (2000-2002) then in China from 2002. He will also hold the position of deputy director of the United Nations departments at the ministry (1996-1998).
Hugues Mingarelli (France / European Commission): director of the Middle East department
At the Commission's DG Relex, he was previously responsible for Eastern Europe, Southern Caucasus and Central Asia, Middle East and Southern Mediterranean. He was at the Court of Auditors (1982-87), desk officer in Nigeria DG Development (before 1990), responsible for Ukraine Belarus, Moldova and former Cei relations in DG External Relations (1999-2000), and at the Reconstruction Agency in the former Yugoslavia (2000-2002).
Nicholas Westcott (United Kingdom): director of the Africa department
Career diplomat and Africanist by training. Current British Ambassador to Ghana since January 2008 (also responsible for Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Togo and Niger) and former head of the Foreign Office's information department, Nick Westcott graduated from Cambridge with a doctorate in African history. . Entering the diplomatic service in 1982, he was first in the Department of Cultural Relations (1982-1984) then was seconded to DG VIII (Development) of the European Commission (1984-1985). He was then posted to Brussels as First Secretary at the Permanent Representation to the EU (1985-1989), then returned to London in the European Communities Department (1990-1992). Appointed European correspondent and head of the PESC unit at the Foreign Office (1992-1993), he was successively deputy ambassador to Dar es Salaam (1993-1996), head of the economic relations department of the Foreign Office (1996-1998), notably during the G8 summit in Birmingham in 1998; and Minister Counselor for Trade and Transportation in Washington (1999-2002); Chief Information Officer of the Foreign Office, when Jack Straw was Minister of Foreign Affairs, in particular during the whole period of Afghanistan and Iraq, (2002-2007). Married, 2 children.
