The Washington Diplomat

Appointments - March 2004

Austria
• Harald Günther assumed the position of deputy chief of mission on Feb. 2, replacing Melitta Schubert, who departed the post on Jan. 14 to become deputy chief of mission of the Austrian Embassy in Belgium. Günther has previously held postings in Vienna, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Algiers.

Guyana
• Bayney R. Karran became ambassador of Guyana to the United States on Dec. 4. Ambassador Karran, who is also Guyana’s permanent representative to the Organization of American States (OAS), previously served as ambassador to Venezuela (1997-2003) with concurrent accreditation as ambassador to Chile and Colombia (1998-2003) as well as Ecuador (1999-2003). Since 1997, he has also been a delegate to ministerial and summit of multilateral organizations such as the Rio Group, the OAS, the Association of Caribbean States, and the Latin American Economic System, among others. Ambassador Karran’s professional experience also includes establishing a private law firm in Guyana (1984-91), serving as a partner in the law firm of De Caires and Fitzpatrick (1992-97), director of the nonprofit Georgetown Legal Aid Clinic (1993-96), chairman of the Guyana National Service Scheme Appeals Tribunal (1994-95), secretary of the Guyana Bar Association (1994-95), and a member of an advisory group of lawyers to the attorney general and minister of legal affairs of Guyana (1993-96). In addition to his legal work, Ambassador Karran has worked in the field of broadcasting, including stints as an announcer, operator, program producer and chairman of the board of directors for the Guyana Broadcasting Corp. Ambassador Karran speaks English and Spanish and is married to Donna Karran with three children.

Latvia
• Rihards Mucins departed the post of political counselor on Jan. 3.
• Juris Pekalis assumed the position of first secretary on Jan. 4. Pekalis previously served as the head of the Human Rights Policy Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Netherlands
• Simon Van Der Burg assumed the position of press counselor on Jan. 6, replacing Harry de Wit, who departed the post on Aug. 20.

Pakistan
• Muhammad Aslam Khan assumed the position of political counselor on Oct. 25.

Slovakia
• Milan Vojtko departed the post of first secretary on Jan. 31.
• Tomás Bican assumed the position of second secretary on Feb. 2.