The Washington Diplomat

Appointments, March 2002

Afghanistan
·Haron Amin became chargé d’affaires of Afghanistan to the United States on Dec. 30. Amin previously served as a United Nations diplomat and the principal spokesman for the United Front after the events of Sept. 11. Amin, born in Kabul in 1969, fled with his family when the Soviets invaded in 1980. He returned to Afghanistan in 1988 to fight the Soviets and was sent to the United States two years later to represent Afghan interests before the U.S. government. He returned to Afghanistan in 1995, working in the Foreign Service until the collapse of Kabul to the Taliban in September 1996. Amin then worked in various capacities at the Permanent Mission of Afghanistan to the United Nations to prevent his country’s seat from becoming vacant or falling to the Taliban. Amin is currently working toward his master’s degree in political science from St. John’s University in New York.

Austria
·Johann Sattler assumed the position of political affairs and public diplomacy attaché, replacing Christoph J. Meran who became the press and information counselor.
•Franz Roessler assumed the position of commercial attaché, replacing Heinz Seitinger.

Bahrain
·Jamal Al-Rowaiei assumed the position of second secretary on Sept. 10.

Botswana
·John Moreti is scheduled to assume the position of counselor on April 3, replacing Anastacia Matsheka who departed Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20. Moreti joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1991. He transferred to London and worked there from 1995 until assuming his current position. Moreti is married with one child.

Burkina Faso
·M& acirc; Ouedraogo assumed the position of economic counselor on Jan. 14, replacing Souleymane Ouedraogo who departed Washington, D.C., on Sept. 28.
·Priscille Zongo assumed the position of legal counselor on Dec. 29.
Central African Republic
·Follot François Eddy assumed the position of major/defense attaché on Feb. 10.

Cyprus
·Ioanna Eftychiou-Evans assumed the position of press attaché on Feb. 4. She previously served as a pupil advocate at the Attorney General’s Office in Cyprus (2001-2002) and holds a master’s of law degree in international trade and business from Fordham University Law School in New York.
·Charalambos Kafkarides assumed the position of consul/second secretary on Jan. 4. Kafkarides previously worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2000-2002) and as a journalist with the Politis newspaper (1999-2000). He holds a bachelor’s degree in Turkish studies and a master’s degree in modern Turkish studies.

Ethiopia
·Brook Hailu assumed the position of minister plenipotentiary and deputy chief of mission. Before coming to Washington, D.C., Hailu worked in the U.S. Directorate in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ghana
·Alan Kyerematen became ambassador of Ghana to the United States on Nov. 8. Ambassador Kyerematen previously worked as senior corporate executive with a subsidiary of Unilever International in Ghana and as principal consultant for the Management and Development and Productivity Institute (MDPI) in Ghana. He is also responsible for establishing the Empretec Program in Ghana in 1990 to promote private sector development. Ambassador Kyerematen expanded the Empretec program to 11 other countries in Africa, and in 1994, he was listed by Time magazine as one of the top 100 global leaders for the new millennium. Ambassador Kyerematen holds a degree in economics and a law degree from the University of Ghana, and he is also a Hubert Humphrey Fellow of the School of Management at the University of Minnesota.

Macedonia
·Nikola Dimitrov became ambassador of Macedonia to the United States on Dec. 12. Ambassador Dimitrov previously served as a human rights officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Macedonia (1996-2000), deputy ministry of foreign affairs of Macedonia in 2000, and national security adviser to the president of Macedonia (2000-2001). He holds a master’s degree in law from King’s College at the University of Cambridge and a first degree in law from St. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Macedonia. He is married with one child.

Malawi
·Victor Geddes assumed the position of counselor in September. He previously served as the trade attaché and head of the Consulate Section.
·Ken Malisita assumed the position of deputy chief of mission.

Mozambique
·Armando Alexandre Panguene became ambassador of Mozambique to the United States on Jan. 14. Ambassador Panguene previously served as ambassador of Mozambique to South Africa (1996-2001), Great Britain (1988-1996) and Portugal (1977-1980). He has also served as the presidential roving ambassador (1987-1988), deputy minister of defense of Mozambique (1984-1987), provincial governor of Mozambique (1980-1983, 1974-1975), and deputy minister of foreign affairs (1975-1977). Ambassador Panguene is married to Maria Teresa Panguene with three children. He speaks English, French and Portuguese.

New Zealand
·John Wood became ambassador of New Zealand to the United States in January. Ambassador Wood joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1969 and has since served as first secretary at the Embassy of New Zealand in Germany (1978-1982), head of the European Division (1982) and Economic Division (1983) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and deputy secretary of economic and trade relations at the Ministry of External Relations and Trade (1991-1994) and of trade and economic analysis at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (1998-2002). He has also served as ambassador of New Zealand to Iran, Pakistan and Turkey (1987-1990) and ambassador to the United States on a previous occasion from 1994 to 1998. Ambassador Wood holds a bachelor’s degree from Balliol College in Oxford and a master’s degree from Canterbury University. He is married with one child.