The Washington Diplomat

Appointments - July 2008

Argentina
Héctor Marcos Timerman became ambassador of Argentina to the United States on March 13. Ambassador Timerman previously served as consul general of the Argentine Republic in New York from 2004 to 2007, before which he developed an extensive career as a journalist, writing for different graphic and audio-visual media. In Argentina, he was a columnist for Noticias magazine and Ámbito Financiero newspaper, as well as co-director of Debate magazine and the host of several television and radio shows. In the United States, he has contributed articles for the New York Times, Newsweek, the Nation, and Los Angeles Times. A human rights advocate, Ambassador Timerman’s father Jacobo was kidnapped and tortured in 1977 for publishing the names of thousands who had vanished under Argentina’s “dirty war” waged by the junta from 1976 to 1983. After his father’s eventual release, Héctor Timerman lived in exile in the United States from 1978 to 1984, during which time he lectured on human rights in New York and earned a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University. Ambassador Timerman is also co-author of the 2005 book “Torture,” and his affiliations with international institutions include: cofounder and board member of Human Rights Watch in New York (1981-89); director of the Fund for Free Expression in London (1983-89); member of the Board of Directors of the Asamblea Permanente por los Derechos Humanos (Permanent Assembly for Human Rights) in Buenos Aires (2002-04); and president of the Board of Directors of the International Coalition of Historic Site Museums of Conscience. Ambassador Timerman is married to Argentine architect Anabelle Sielecki, and they have two daughters, Amanda and Jordana.

Croatia
Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic became ambassador of Croatia to the United States on April 7. Ambassador Grabar-Kitarovic previously served as Croatia’s minister of foreign affairs and European integration, as well as the delegation head for the negotiations over Croatia’s accession to the European Union (2005-08). In 2004, she was also appointed to serve as chairman of the Interim Committee on trade and related matters between the European Community and Croatia; delegation head for the negotiations over the Enlargement Protocol; and national aid coordinator. Prior to that, Ambassador Grabar-Kitarovic was Croatia’s minister of European integration and an elected member of the Croatian Parliament in the 7th Electoral District (2003-05). In addition, she has served as minister counselor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2001-03), minister counselor and diplomatic counselor at the Croatian Embassy in Canada (1997-2000), head of the North America Department at the Foreign Affairs Ministry (1995-97), and a senior advisor to the deputy minister at the ministry (1993-95). Ambassador Grabar-Kitarovic’s political appointments include various positions for the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party, such as secretary-general for European integration, deputy campaign director and a member of the HDZ Presidency, National Council and Central Committee. Ambassador Grabar-Kitarovic holds a bachelor’s degree in English, Spanish and literature, as well as a master’s in political science from the University of Zagreb. She also conducted a pre-doctoral research fellowship in international relations and security policy at George Washington University in Washington as a Fulbright scholar. Ambassador Grabar-Kitarovic speaks English, Spanish and Portuguese, as well as some Italian, German and French. She is married with two children.

Denmark
Ulrik Eversbusch is scheduled to assume the position of minister counselor on Sept. 1, 2008, replacing Stig Paolo Piras, who is scheduled to depart at the end of July.

Ole Torpegaard Hansen is scheduled to leave his position as minister counselor on Aug. 31, 2008.

Henrik Lindegaard is scheduled to assume the position of minister counselor on Sept. 1, 2008.

Jamaica
Anthony Smith Rowe Johnson became ambassador of Jamaica to the United States on March 7, with concurrent accreditation as Jamaica’s permanent representative to the Organization of American States. Ambassador Johnson previously served as a senator from 1980 to 1983, a member of Parliament from 1983 to 1993, and again as a senator from 1993 to 2007, becoming minority leader of the Senate in 2002. During that time, he was also the opposition spokesman on agriculture (2002-07), as well as a lecturer (1992-2006) and then senior lecturer (2006-08) with the Department of Management Studies at the University of the West Indies. In addition, Ambassador Johnson’s postings include education spokesman (1987-2002), minister of state at the Ministry of Agriculture (1983-89), spokesman on mining, energy and technology (1983-87), and minister of state at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (1980-83). Prior to the 1980s, Ambassador Johnson served as executive director of the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica (1976-80), managing director and manufacturer with Jampro Ltd. (1975-76), general manager and director for Jamaica Frozen Foods (1970-74), and a news reporter and producer for the Jamaica Broadcasting Corp. The ambassador earned his bachelor’s degree in economics and his master’s degree in international trade and finance from the University of California in Los Angeles. Ambassador Johnson and his wife, Pamela Rosalee Johnson, have four children.

Mali
Mohamed Ouzouna Maiga assumed the position of first counselor, replacing Mamounou Toure.

Nigeria
B.G. Wakil assumed the position of deputy chief of mission in May, replacing U.A. Baraya. Wakil had previously served at Nigerian missions in Saudi Arabia, Germany and South Korea.

Pakistan
Husain Haqqani has been appointed Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States. A prominent journalist, Ambassador Haqqani has contributed op-eds and articles to dozens of publications, including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Boston Globe, Financial Times in London, International Herald Tribune, South China Morning Post, Toronto Globe and Mail, Gulf News and Le Monde. In the early 1980s, he covered the war in Afghanistan for Voice of America radio, served as the Pakistan and Afghanistan correspondent for Far Eastern Economic Review, and worked in Hong Kong as the East Asian correspondent for the London-based Arabia – the Islamic World Review. He has also been a syndicated columnist for the Indian Express and Daily Star in Bangladesh, among other publications, and has appeared regularly on television news shows for BBC, CNN, NBC, PBS, CBS and ABC, commenting on Pakistan, Afghanistan, South Asian affairs, and Islamic politics and radicalism. In his governmental and political career, Ambassador Haqqani served as chairman of the House Building Finance Corp. (1995-96), spokesman to Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and federal secretary for information and broadcasting (1993-95), Pakistani ambassador to Sri Lanka (1992-93), special assistant and principal spokesman for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (1990-92), and special assistant to Prime Minister Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi in 1990. He has also worked in the parliamentary election campaign for the Peoples Democratic Front party led by Benazir Bhutto (1993) and the campaign for the IJI alliance led by Nawaz Sharif (1988). In addition, since 2004, Ambassador Haqqani has been an associate professor for international relations at Boston University, co-chair of the Project on Islam and Democracy at the Hudson Institute in Washington, and editor of the journal Current Trends in Islamists Ideology. Among his numerous writing credits are “Pakistan Between Mosque and Military” for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (2005), “Islam’s Medieval Outposts” for Foreign Policy (2003), and “The Role of Islam in Pakistan’s Future” for Washington Quarterly (2004-05). Ambassador Haqqani holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Karachi.

Poland
Robert Kupiecki has been appointed Poland’s ambassador to the United States. Most recently, Ambassador Kupiecki served as director of the Security Policy Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2004 to 2008. Ambassador Kupiecki joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1994, serving in various positions including deputy ambassador in Poland’s Permanent Representation to NATO and the Western European Union in Brussels (1999-2004). A recognized expert in the field of security policy, Ambassador Kupiecki was one of the pillars of Poland’s accession to NATO in the 1990s, and he has led Polish delegations working with NATO, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the United Nations and other forums dealing with the disarmament, armament control and nonproliferation issues. Currently, Ambassador Kupiecki is one of the key players in the process associated with the possible installation of the U.S. anti-missile shield facilities in Poland. Ambassador Kupiecki also worked as a junior lecturer at the Historical Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and he is the author and co-author of several books, as well as dozens of articles on modern history and international relations. Ambassador Kupiecki holds a master’s degree from the History Department of Warsaw University as well as a doctorate in political science specializing in international relations. He is also a graduate from the National School of Public Administration — during which time he interned at the Texas Department of Commerce affiliated with the L.B.J. School of Public Affairs in Austin — and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. Ambassador Kupiecki speaks English and Russian, and he is married with two children.

Qatar
Ali Bin Fahad Al-Hajri became ambassador of Qatar to the United States on April 7. Ambassador Al-Hajri previously served as director of the European and American Affairs Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2006-08) and Qatari ambassador to Italy with non-residency ambassador status to Greece, Albania, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia and San Marino (2000-05). During that same time, he was also the Qatari representative to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and the U.N. World Food Program. In addition, Ambassador Al-Hajri was a member of the Qatari Permanent Delegation to the United Nations in New York (1997-2000), a diplomat at the Qatari Embassy in Morocco (1995-97), a diplomat at the Qatari General Consulate in Dubai (1985-93), and a third secretary in the Foreign Affairs Ministry (1983). Ambassador Al-Hajri holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Southern Colorado, and he has been awarded the Grand Knight of the Cross by the Republic of Italy. He is married with six children.

Trinidad and Tobago
Glenda Morean-Phillip became ambassador of Trinidad and Tobago to the United States on June 6, 2008, serving concurrently as her country’s ambassador to Mexico and permanent representative to the Organization of American States. A senior counsel, Ambassador Morean-Phillip enrolled as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Trinidad and Tobago in 1974, and has the distinction of being the first Trinidad-born woman in her country to qualify as a solicitor. She engaged in private practice as head of her law firm up until 2001, when she was appointed as a member of the Senate and achieved yet another milestone for women in her country by being the longest-serving female attorney general of Trinidad and Tobago from 2001 to 2003. Prior to her current posting, Ambassador Morean-Phillip served as high commissioner for Trinidad and Tobago based in London, with accreditation to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden and Germany (2003-08). In addition, Ambassador Morean-Phillip was a judge in the Supreme Court of Trinidad and Tobago from 1999 to 2000, and from 1987 to 2001, she served as an associate tutor on the faculty of the Hugh Wooding Law School at the University of the West Indies. She also served as a member of the Legal Aid and Advisory Authority (1994-2001) and the Disciplinary Committee of the Law Association (1992-95 and 1998-99). She again accomplished another milestone in 1989 by becoming the first female to be nominated president of the Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago. Ambassador Morean-Phillip has also been actively involved in public service and community development in her country through groups such as the Blind Welfare Association of Trinidad and Tobago, the Nursing Commission, Public Utilities Commission and Airports Authority of Trinidad and Tobago.