The Washington Diplomat

Appointments - March 2006

Bahrain
Naser M.Y. Al Belooshi became ambassador of Bahrain to the United States on Oct. 3. Ambassador Al Belooshi previously served as executive director of management services at the Bahrain Monetary Agency, otherwise known as the Central Bank of the Kingdom of Bahrain (1992-2005), executive director of the Arab Monetary Fund in the United Arab Emirates, and director of economic research at the Bahrain Center for Studies and Research (1987-92). In addition, Ambassador Al Belooshi was the director of research and external examiner for master’s degree students in economics and lectured at various universities and colleges, including the University of Maryland’s European Division. He has also written various articles and research work related to economic development. In his previous posting as economic representative of Bahrain to the United States, Ambassador Al Belooshi provided testimonies and speeches on the merits of the Bahrain-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. Recently Ambassador Al Belooshi was a speaker at the Sixth Annual Monterey Congressional Forum on Trade Policy in Monterey, Calif., and provided testimony before the International Trade Commission in Washington D.C. Ambassador Al Belooshi received his doctorate in economics with honors and a master’s degree in economics from the University of Paris, in addition to a diploma in economic planning from the International Institute of Public Administration in Paris. He is married to Sharifa Benammour and has a son, Marwan, and two daughters, Leena and Noor.

Czech Republic
Daniel Novy assumed the position of first secretary (press) on Feb. 6, replacing Petr Janousek, who departed the post of third secretary (press) on Feb. 2. Novy previously served as deputy director of the European Commission Law Department (2003-05) and desk officer at the International Law Depart-ment (2002-03) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Honduras
Irina A. Rosa assumed the position of counselor on Jan. 3.

Indonesia
Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat became ambassador of Indonesia to the United States on Jan. 13. Since joining the Foreign Service in 1981, Ambassador Parnohadiningrat has served multilateral postings in Geneva (1982-84 and 1989-92), Vienna (1984-86) and New York (1996-98). Ambassador Parnohadiningrat most recently held the post of secretary-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, concurrently serving as the Indonesian senior official meeting leader to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). In 2005, he was elected chairman of the main committee of the Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference and in 2004, chaired the Third PrepComm for the 2005 NPT Review Conference in New York. In April 2002, he completed an 11-month tenure as ambassador to Australia and Vanuatu during the time of the East Timor conflict. In 1999, as secretary of the Indonesian Task Force for the Implementation of the Popular Consultations in East Timor, Ambassador Parnohadiningrat led 76 Indonesian diplomats to work with the United Nations on the elections in East Timor. He also worked on the issue of East Timor as director of International Organization in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as head of the Indonesian delegation to the bilateral Indonesia-East Timor meetings in 2000 to 2001. Ambassador Parnohadiningrat holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the University of Gajah Mada in Indonesia and studied at the School of International and Political Affairs at Columbia University. He is married to Nunung Kuncorowati and has three children.

Italy
Giovanni Castellaneta became ambassador of Italy to the United States on Oct. 3. Ambassador Castellaneta, who has been serving as foreign policy adviser to the Italian prime minister since 2001, previously served as vice chairman of Finmeccanica Group (2002-05), personal representative of the Italian prime minister for the G8 summits, ambassador to Australia and various insular states in the Pacific Ocean (1998-2001), and ambassador to Iran (1992-95). In addition, he was the special coordinator for the Italian Reconstruction Program in Albania (1997-98), head of the Office for the Coordination of the International Activity of Italian Regions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1995-97), diplomatic adviser to the treasury minister and spokesman for the Foreign Affairs Ministry (1989-92), as well as Italy’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva (1985-89). Before that, Ambassador Castellaneta held posts in the Prime Minister’s Office (1984-85), and was head of the Press, Information and Cultural Office at the Italian Embassy in Paris (1981-84), chief of staff to the secretary-general of the Foreign Affairs Ministry (1978-81), consul in Chambery, France (1972-74), and head of the Economic and Trade Office at the Italian Embassy in Lisbon (1974-76). Ambassador Castellaneta, who joined the Foreign Service in 1967, graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Rome “La Sapienza.”

Korea
Lee Tae-sik became ambassador of Korea to the United States on Nov. 10. Ambassador Lee is a career diplomat who has served his country for more than four decades and across four continents. After joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1973, Ambassador Lee served in various locations, including Liberia, the Philippines, Austria, Yugoslavia and Belgium. He has also held several senior-level positions in the Korean government, including director-general of the International Trade Bureau at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, deputy executive director of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization, and assistant secretary to the Korean president. In addition, he was ambassador to Israel from July 2000 to February 2002 after which he served as deputy minister for foreign affairs. As deputy foreign minister, Ambassador Lee led Korean delegations in various security negotiations and consultations, particularly those addressing North Korea’s nuclear issue. He returned to his duties as ambassador in June 2003, this time as Korean ambassador to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. In January 2005, he was posted back to Seoul as the vice minister of foreign affairs and trade. Ambassador Lee has served in the United States before, as first secretary at the Korean Embassy in Washington, D.C., from 1981 to 1984. Ambassador Lee graduated from the Department of International Relations at Seoul National University in 1970 and the School of Advanced International Studies at the Johns Hopkins University in 1988. He is married with three sons.

Laos
Sidsena Phomma assumed the position of minister-counselor, deputy chief of mission on Jan. 3, replacing Seng Soukhathivong, who departed the post on Feb. 8.

Lesotho
Mathabiso Sesojane assumed the position of third secretary on Oct. 28, replacing Thabang Lepheana, who departed the post on Nov. 19.

Lithuania
Marius Zelvys assumed the position of administrative officer on Dec. 19, replacing Alvydas Zocys.

Luxembourg
Joseph Weyland became ambassador of Luxembourg to the United States on Dec. 2. Ambassador Weyland previously served as ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg’s permanent representative to NATO (2003-05), as well as ambassador to the Court of St. James, Ireland and Iceland, with residency in London (1993-2002). He was also secretary-general at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1991-92), chairman of the Committee on Political Union at the Inter-Governmental Conference leading to the Maastricht Treaty (1991), and Luxembourg’s representative for the Inter-Governmental Conference leading to the Single European Act (1985). In addition, Ambassador Weyland held posts as ambassador and permanent representative to the European Economic Community (EEC) in Brussels (1984-91), permanent representative to the United Nations in New York (1983-84), director of economic relations and cooperation at the Foreign Affairs Ministry (1979-83), deputy permanent representative to the EEC (1976-79), deputy director of protocol and legal matters at the Foreign Affairs Ministry (1972-76), and first secretary at the Luxembourg Embassy in Bonn (1969-72). Ambassador Weyland holds a doctorate of law and is a graduate of the Institute d’Etudes Politiques in Paris. He is married with two sons and speaks French, English and German, and is proficient in Italian, Spanish and Dutch.

Malaysia
Maj. Hishamuddin Zahrullayali assumed the position of assistant defense, military, naval and air attaché on Jan. 10, replacing Lt. Col. Mohamad Anwar Abdullah, who departed the post on Aug. 15.

Slovenia
Miriam Teresa Mozgan assumed the position of deputy chief of mission on Nov. 14, replacing Mirko Cigler, who departed the post on Aug. 26. Mozgan previously served as head of the Public Relations Office in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense, as well as adviser to the Slovenian president.

Ukraine
Oleh Shamshur became ambassador of Ukraine to the United States on Jan. 24. Ambassador Shamshur previously served as deputy minister of foreign affairs (2000-04), head of the European Union Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2003-04), and minister-counselor at the Ukrainian Embassy to the Benelux countries (1998-2003). In addition, he was deputy chairman of the State Committee for Nationalities and Migration of Ukraine, as well as a member of the President’s Commission on Citizenship (1996-98), and secretary and counselor at the Ukrainian Mission to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva (1993-96). Ambassador Shamshur was also a visiting scholar at the University College in London (1993), and he held various posts at the Institute of Social and Economic Problems of Foreign Countries at the Academy of Sciences in Ukraine, including director of programs (1981-93). Ambassador Shamshur graduated cum laude from the Taras Shevchenko Kyiv University’s Department of International Relations and International Law, and he holds a doctorate from Kyiv University. He also completed a post-graduate course at the Academy of Sciences in Ukraine. Ambassador Shamshur speaks English, French and Russian and is married with one daughter.