The Washington Diplomat

April 2003 Appointments

Bolivia

Oswaldo Cuevas assumed the position of deputy chief of mission on March 10.

Jaime Aparicio Otero became ambassador of Bolivia to the United States on Feb. 26. Ambassador Aparicio previously served as executive secretary for the Summits of the Americas Secretariat at the Organization of American States (OAS) in 2003, director of the Office of Summit Follow-Up at the OAS (1998-2000), and senior adviser of political affairs to the secretary-general of the OAS (1997-98). Ambassador Otero served as a career diplomat for the Bolivian Foreign Office from 1975 to 1990 and 1993 to 1997. He also held posts as vice minister and acting minister of foreign affairs and national coordinator for the first Summit of the Americas in Miami and for the Summit of the Americas for Sustainable Development in Santa Cruz, Bolivia (1993-97). In addition, Ambassador Aparicio was deputy director the Bolivian newspaper “La Razón” (1991-93), a professor of international law at Catholic University in La Paz, Bolivia (1992-93), and a professor of Bolivian diplomatic history and diplomatic law at the Diplomatic Academy of Bolivia (1985-92). He holds a degree in law from the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés in La Paz and a master’s degree in international relations and diplomacy from the Diplomatic Academy of Bolivia.

France

Denis Pietton assumed the position of minister-counselor, deputy chief of mission on Sept. 7, replacing Barry Delongchamps, who departed the post on Sept. 7 for a position in the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Pietton previously served as consul-general in Jerusalem (1999-2002) and deputy chief of staff at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1997-99).

< font face="arial">Guatemala

Antonio Arenales Forno became ambassador of Guatemala to the United States on Dec. 9. Ambassador Arenales previously served as the permanent representative of Guatemala to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva (2000-02), political adviser to the U.N. Project for the Reorganization of the Presidential Military Staff (2000), and a legal counselor in private practice, political analyst, and journalist and weekly columnist for “El Periódico” (1996-2000). Ambassador Arenales also served as undersecretary of the Presidential Office for Peace and a member of the Peace Commission (1993-96), an adviser in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1986-93), an elected member of the National Constitutional Assembly (1984-85), and a legal counselor with Arenales & Urruela Law Offices (1981-83). Ambassador Forno holds a bachelor’s degree in law with postgraduate studies in constitutional and international law.

Kenya

Joyce K. Marete assumed the position of confidential secretary on Jan. 1, replacing Loise M. Mungai, who departed the post on Feb. 24 to return to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Nairobi. Marete joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2000 from the Office of the President after serving various posts in the Kenyan government for more than 20 years. She is married with five children.

Peris Kariuki Murage assumed the position of second political secretary on Jan. 25, replacing Marie-Goretti Ndede, who departed on Jan. 24 to assume a post in the Kenyan Embassy in Namibia. Murage, who joined the Foreign Ministry in 1997, previously served as second secretary at the Kenya High Commission in Windhoek, Namibia (2001-03), and various postings in the Europe, finance and international organizations divisions of the Foreign Ministry. She holds diplomas in French from the Alliance Française, diplomacy and international relations from the International Relations Institute of Cameroon, and human resources management from the Institute of Personnel Management.

Madagascar

Rajaonarivony Narisoa became ambassador of Madagascar to the United States on Feb. 26. Ambassador Narisoa previously served as Madagascar’s deputy prime minister and minister of finance and budget in 2002, national coordinator of the program on governance and public policies for sustainable human development funded by the U.N. Development Program (1998-2002), and secretary-general of a holding company and director general of a consulting firm in Madagascar (1996-98). He also served as an economic and commercial officer at the British Embassy in Madagascar (1989-93), and a lecturer and research associate at the Institute of Madagascar for the Techniques of Planning (1981-89). Ambassador Narisoa holds a doctorate in public policy and administration from Auburn University, a master’s degree in public and international affairs from the University of Pittsburgh, and a master’s degree in international relations from the University of Madagascar. He is married with three children.

Maldives

Mohamed Latheef became ambassador of the Republic of Maldives to the United States on Feb. 26 and was appointed the Maldives permanent representative to the United Nations on Sept. 9. Ambassador Latheef previously served as the minister of education (1993-2002), a member of Parliament (2000-02), deputy minister of the Ministry of Atolls Administration (1993), and director general of the Maldives Centre for Management and Administration (1992-93). Ambassador Latheef was also the national director of the Project for Public Administration Reform (1992-93), an elected deputy speaker and appointed member of the Peoples’ Special Assembly (1979-97), and vice chairman of the National Education Council (1993-2002). In addition, the ambassador has held various posts in the Educational Development Centre, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Maldivian Embassy in Sri Lanka. Ambassador Latheef holds a doctorate in educational planning and a master’s degree in education from the University of Wales with postgraduate studies in demography from the College of Cardiff in Wales, England. He is married with three children.

Mongolia

Sukhbaatar Altantsetseg assumed the position of third political secretary on Dec. 23, replacing Yaichil Batsuuri, who departed the post in June 2002. From 1993 to 1995, Altantsetseg was a special journalist with Mongolian TV and Radio in Russia, a political journalist on Mongolian national television from 1983 to 1993, and a student at the Humboldt University in Germany before coming to the United States in 1998 to pursue a master’s degree.

Ravdan Bold became ambassador of Mongolia to the United States on Feb. 26. Ambassador Bold previously served as executive secretary of the National Security Council of Mongolia (1997-2003), adviser to the Parliament and director of the Institute of Strategic Studies (1996-97), and deputy director of the Mongolian Central Intelligence Agency (1996). He also held various posts in the Institute of Strategic Studies (1991-96), the Ministry of Defense (1989-91), the Embassy of Mongolia in Japan (1985-89), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1984-85). Ambassador Bold attended the Military Institute in Ulaanbaatar (1973-77), the Military Diplomatic School in Moscow (1978-80), and the Defense Resources Management Training of Naval Postgraduate School in the United States (1994). He is married with two children.

Gonchigiin Seseer assumed the position of counselor, consul-general on Dec. 23. Seseer previously served as deputy director of the Legal and Consular Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Mongolia from 2000 to 2002.

Togo

Tchaou Koffi assumed the position of financial attaché on Dec. 12.

Zimbabwe

Loreta Evelyn Mutyora assumed the position of third secretary on Jan. 2, replacing Thamary C. Pfinayi, who departed the post on Dec. 31 after being with the embassy for five years. Mutyora previously served as third secretary at the Embassy of Zimbabwe in Paris.

Correction
In the Appointments section of the March issue, Retselisitsoe Moea was incorrectly identified as a counselor at the Lesotho U.N. Mission. Moea is a counselor at the Embassy of Lesotho in Washington, D.C.