The Washington Diplomat

Appointments - February 2006

Austria
Andreas Brandstaetter assumed the position of counselor on Jan. 2.

Chile
Fernando Varela assumed the position of minister counselor, deputy chief of mission on Dec. 16, replacing Rodrigo Gaete, who departed the post on Dec. 15.

Colombia
Andrés Pastrana became ambassador of Colombia to the United States on Dec. 2. Ambassador Pastrana was elected president of Colombia on June 21, 1998. Highlights of his tenure as president included developing and launching a comprehensive program to combat narco-trafficking, increasing the presence of the state in regions controlled by terrorist and drug trafficking organizations, advancing peace talks with the country’s two largest guerrilla organizations, and providing sound policy stewardship during a deep economic recession that began shortly before he assumed the presidency. He improved bilateral relations with the United States, securing bipartisan support for $4 billion in U.S. military and development assistance. Since leaving office in 2002, Ambassador Pastrana has lived in Spain, attending a number of international conferences and summits. Ambassador Pastrana’s political career began in 1982 when he was twice elected to the Bogotá city council. In 1988, he became the first elected mayor in Bogotá’s history. During his campaign for mayor, Pastrana was kidnapped by the Medellín drug cartel and, after a week in captivity, freed by police in a dramatic rescue. In 1991, he created the New Democratic Force, an independent political group, and launched a campaign for the Colombian Senate. The party made history by winning eight independent seats, the largest number ever in the Senate. Pastrana served in the Senate until 1993. The following year, his 1994 presidential campaign united the Conservative Party and the New Democratic Force. He lost the national election in the second round by less than 1 percent of the vo te. Over the following four years, Ambassador Pastrana worked as a consultant to the United Nations as part of the Young Leadership Program. Before entering public service, Ambassador Pastrana founded the political magazine, Guion, and served as news director and anchorman of a daily nationwide news program. Ambassador Pastrana, who is the son of former Colombian President Misael Pastrana Borrero, holds a law degree from the University of El Rosario in Bogotá, and was a fellow at the Center for International Affairs at Harvard University. He is married to Nohra Puyana de Pastrana and has three children.

Czech Republic
Petr Kolar became ambassador of the Czech Republic to the United States on Dec. 2. Ambassador Kolar previously served as deputy minister of foreign affairs for bilateral relations (2003-05), ambassador to Ireland (1999-2003), adviser for European integration and the Balkans to the Czech president (1998-99), and ambassador to Sweden (1996-98). In addition, he served as director of the Eastern and Southern Europe Territorial Department and foreign policy adviser to the foreign minister (1995-96), director of the Department for Czechs Living Abroad and Nongovernmental Relations (1993-95), as well as various postings in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1993-96). Ambassador Kolar was also a researcher at various institutes, including the Institute for International Relations in Prague, the Norwegian Nobel Institute, the Institute for Strategic Studies in Prague, and the Institute for Contemporary History of the Czechoslovak Academy of Science. From 1991 to 1993, he worked as foreign policy editor, commentator and correspondent for a number of Czech dailies and magazines. Ambassador Kolar studied information technology, library science and ethnography at Charles University, faculty of arts in Prague, and his post-graduate studies were completed at the Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington, D.C., and the University of London, Institute of Historical Research. He is married to Jaroslava Kolarova and has two sons.

Paraguay
Oscar Centurion assumed the position of cultural counselor in December.

Qatar
Nasser Bin Hamad M. Al-Khalifa became ambassador of Qatar to the United States and nonresident ambassador to Mexico on Oct. 3. Ambassador Al-Khalifa previously served as ambassador to the United Kingdom and nonresident ambassador to Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands and Norway, as well as Qatar’s permanent representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the International Maritime Organization (2000-05). In addition, he served as ambassador at-large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1998-2000), Qatar’s permanent representative to the United Nations in New York and nonresident ambassador to Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Cuba and Nicaragua (1996-98), as well as head of the Qatari Delegation to Canada and Norway (1995-97). He has also held posts as ambassador to Korea (1992-93) and Italy (1994-96) with nonresident ambassador status to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Malta. Ambassador Al-Khalifa was also head of the European and American Affairs Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1990-92), deputy chief of mission at the Qatari Embassy in France (1986-87), deputy chief of mission at the Qatari Embassy in Washington, D.C. (1981-86), and first secretary at the Qatari Mission to the United Nations in New York (1978-81). He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Western Michigan University, a master’s degree in international public policy from Johns Hopkins University and a law degree from the City University in the United Kingdom. He was also a fellow at Princeton University and a visiting fellow at the Centre for Islamic Studies in Oxford, as well as a candidate for a doctorate in international affairs from the London School of Economics.

Zimbabwe
Machivenyika Mapuranga be-came ambassador of Zim-babwe to the United States on Dec. 2 (see profile in Jan. 19, 2006, column of the Diplomatic Pouch). Ambassador Mapuranga previously served as Zim-babwe’s first resident ambassador to Ghana (2001-05), permanent secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1999-2001), permanent representative to the United Nations in New York (1996-98), assistant secretary-general representing the Southern African region in the Organization of African Unity (OAU) (1987-95), ambassador to Tanzania (1982-86), and counselor and chargé d’affaires to the Zimbabwe High Commission in Lusaka (1980-81). In addition, Ambassador Mapuranga has held posts as special representative of the OAU secretary-general to Rwanda, chairman of the Non-Aligned Countries Political Committee, the OAU secretary-general’s special envoy to Somalia, Sierra Leone and Burundi, chairman of the U.N. Special Political Committee, head of the Zimbabwe Delegation to the Commonwealth Summit in Australia, and a lecturer at the University of Ibadan and the University of Jos, both in Nigeria, as well as the University of Zimbabwe. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of London, a post-graduate diploma in development studies from Oxford, a master’s degree in history and political thought from Edinburgh University, and a doctorate in history from the University of London.