The Washington Diplomat

Appointments - May 2005

Armenia
• Tatoul Markarian was appointed ambassador of Armenia to the United States on March 19. Ambassador Markarian previously served as deputy minister of foreign affairs since June 2000. In that capacity, he was the Armenian coordinator for the U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue as well as the NATO-Armenia Political-Military Dialogue. From 2002 to 2003, Ambassador Markarian was special representative of the Armenian president for the Nagorno Karabakh negotiations. Other previous diplomatic assignments include a term as deputy chief of mission and minister-counselor at the Armenian Embassy in Washington, D.C., from December 1994 to January 1999. Before joining the Armenian Foreign Service, Ambassador Markarian served in newly independent Armenia’s legislative and executive branches as assistant to the vice chairman of the Armenian Parliament (1990-91) and assistant and then adviser to the Armenian vice president (1991-94), also serving as acting chief of staff to the prime minister of Armenia (1991-92). Ambassador Markarian holds a master’s degree in international relations from the School of Advanced International Studies at the Johns Hopkins University and is a doctoral candidate at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He graduated from the Yerevan University of National Economy in 1985 and completed a doctorate in economics at the same university in 1989. In addition to his native Armenian, Ambassador Markarian is fluent in English and Russian. He is married with one son.

Bahrain
• Husain Al-Mahmood assumed the position of second secretary in November, replacing Ghassan Abdulla.
• Ambassador Khalifa Ali Al-Khalifa departed the post of ambassador on Dec. 27. No replacement has yet been named.

Canada
• Frank McKenna became ambassador of Canada to the United States on March 8. Ambassador McKenna has had an illustrious legal career, successfully arguing cases up to the Supreme Court of Canada. One of the highlights was his successful defense of Yvon Durelle, a British and Empire Light Heavyweight Champion, on a charge of murder. Ambassador McKenna became a member of the Legislative Assembly in 1982 and leader of his party in 1985 at the age of 37. After 17 years in opposition, he led his party to power in 1987, winning all 58 seats in the provincial legislature. He was a leading advocate for the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement signed in 1989. Following two successive election victories, Ambassador McKenna left provincial politics, honoring a promise he made when elected that he would limit his term to 10 years. Under his leadership as premier, New Brunswick became one of Canada’s first provinces to improve its credit rating and start producing a steady series of balanced budgets. His efforts earned him the designation of Economic Developer of the Year for 1993 by the Economic Developers of Canada, the first and only time a political leader has been so recognized. In 1998, Ambassador McKenna became counsel to Atlantic Canada’s largest firm, McInnes Cooper, and consulting counsel to Osler Hoskin & Harcourt in Toronto. In addition, he was appointed to the Security Intelligence Review Committee, which is responsible for the country’s top-secret security matters. In 2002, Ambassador McKenna and his wife Julie purchased Glenwood Kitchen Cabinets, which manufactures customized kitchens for the Canadian, U.S. and Caribbean markets. Ambassador McKenna completed his post-graduate studies in political science at Queen’s University before earning a law degree at the University of New Brunswick. He is married with three children and four grandchildren.

Mauritius
• Martine S.C. Young Kim Fat assumed the position of deputy chief of mission on Feb. 18, replacing Subhas Gujadhur, who departed the post on Feb. 1 to serve in the Mauritius Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York. Fat previously served in the Multilateral Economic Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Mauritius Embassy in Brussels, and the Mauritius Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva.

Pakistan
• Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri assumed the position of first secretary/head of chancery, replacing Tariq Ali.
• Aamir Nazir Gondal assumed the position of finance and accounts officer, replacing Waqar Ahmad Bajwa.
• Col. Omar Mahmood Hayat assumed the position of attaché of army defense procurement.
• Group Capt. Nadeem Javed assumed the position of naval and air attaché, replacing Group Capt. Azher Hasan.

Tunisia
• Mohamed Nejib Hachana assumed the position of ambassador of Tunisia to the United States on March 8. Ambassador Hachana previously served as ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (2003-04), Lebanon (1996-98), and Kuwait (1992-95), as well as director of the Maghreb (North African) Countries Department (1998-2000) and director of the Arab Countries Department (1995-96) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition, he served as a cabinet member with the Office of the President of the Republic in the Department of Diplomat Affairs (2000-03) and deputy chief of mission at the Tunisian Embassy in Washington from 1988 to 1992. His 24-year diplomatic career also includes postings as deputy director in charge of bilateral cooperation with North American and European countries (1986-88) and deputy director of cooperation with North American countries and the United Nations and its specialized agencies (1980-83). Ambassador Hachana holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Law and Economics in Tunisia, a high diploma from the National School of Administration in Tunisia, a certificate of applied statistics from the University of Boulder in Colo., and a diploma from the National Institute of Defense for Strategic Studies in Tunisia. He speaks Arabic, French, English and some Spanish, and is married with two children.