The Washington Diplomat

Appointments - January 2010

Andorra
Narcís Casal de Fonsdeviela became ambassador of Andorra to the United States on Nov. 2, with concurrent accreditation as permanent representative to the United Nations in New York. An attorney, Ambassador Fonsdeviela practiced civil and public law from 1989 to 2004, during which time, he also served as deputy secretary and member of the Andorra Parliament, as well as legal adviser and board member of the country’s Chamber of Commerce and chairman of its Public Broadcast Corp. Ambassador Fonsdeviela graduated from the University of Barcelona with a degree in law and studied public administration and policy at the University of Madrid, both in Spain. In addition, he holds a master’s degree in international relations from the Spanish Diplomatic School and another in East-West psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies in the United States. He also received his diplôme d’études approfondies in law and public history from the University of Paris II (Sorbonne) in France.

Panama
Jaime Eduardo Aleman became ambassador of Panama to the United States on Aug. 25, having previously been the managing partner at Aleman, Cordero Galindo & Lee, one of Panama’s leading law firms. Ambassador Aleman began his public service career in 1978 as a legal advisor to the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, D.C. From 1984 to 1985, he served as legal counselor to Panamanian President Nicolás Ardito Barletta and as minister of government and justice under President Eric Arturo Delvalle in 1988. For more than two decades, Ambassador Aleman has been a prominent member of the board of directors of various entities, including HSBC (Panamá) S.A., the International Lawyers Association of Panama and the Panama Chapter of Young Presidents Organization, in addition to serving as chairman of the board of directors for the International Lawyers Association of Panama and Special Olympics. Ambassador Aleman holds a law degree from Duke University School of Law and a bachelor’s in economics from the University of Notre Dame. He is a lifetime member of Duke’s School of Law Board of Visitors, and in 2003, he was honored by the school with its International Alumni Achievement Award. Ambassador Aleman is married to María del Pilar Arosemena de Aleman and has three children: Jaime Eduardo, Ana Sofía and Juan Manuel.