Appointments (September, 2001) Embassy of Austria • Martin Kraemer assumed the position of consul general on June 11, replacing Peter Pries, who departed Washington, D.C., on April 20. Embassy of Benin • Cyrille S. Oguin has assumed the position of Ambassador of Benin to the United States. Before his appointment, Oguin served as director of human rights at the Ministry of Justice in Benin. Ambassador Oguin joined the diplomatic service in March 1978. His first posting was as second secretary at the Embassy of Benin Ghana from 1979 to 1984. He led this mission as chargé d’affaires from July 1981 to September 1982. From 1995 to 1996, Oguin served as assistant to the chief of staff of the minister of external affairs and cooperation and later as assistant to the minister of foreign affairs. In November 2000, the ambassador was inducted into the Knighthood of the Benin National Order. Oguin speaks French, English and has a fairly good knowledge of Arabic. He is married with two children. Embassy of Democratic Republic of Congo • On July 31 Serge Mombouli presented his credentials to President George W. Bush, accrediting him as Ambassador to the United States. Mombouli was acting as chargé d’affaires, a.i. since November 1997. By training, Ambassador Mombouli is an expert in corporate law and business negotiations. He began his career at Air Afrique in the corporate sales department in Paris, France. He then became vice president of A.W.E. Group, a company based in Houston, Texas. In 1995 he became vice president of international operations and project development at Transworld Consortium Corporation, also based in Houston. On May 30, 1997 the ambassador joined the Congolese government when he volunteered to be the spokesman in the United States of Congo’s president, Denis Sassou N’Guesso. Mombouli was born in Pointe-Noire in 1959. The son of a Congolese diplomat and statesman, he is married with six children. Embassy of France • Roland Celette has assumed the position of cultural attaché, replacing Lazare Paupert. Embassy of Grenada • Patricia M. Clarke has assumed the position of first secretary. Embassy of Hungary • Col. István Gyenes arrived in Washington, D.C., on July 10 and has assumed the post of defense, military and air attaché. He replaces Brig. Gen. Tibor Kiss, who departed Washington on July 14. • Peter Horváth arrived in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 15 and has assumed the position of commercial counselor. He replaces Pál Kertesz, who departed Washington on Aug. 17. Iceland • Gudni Bragason, minister-counselor, arrived in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 1 to assume the position of deputy chief of mission. From 1999 to 2001, Bragason served as acting chief of protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rekjavik. From 1995 to 1999, he was a counselor in the political department of the Ministry. He replaces Sveinn Bjornsson, who departed Washington on July 17. Embassy of Jordan • Jafar Hassan arrived in Washington, D.C., and assumed the position of deputy chief of mission on July 1. Before this assignment, Hassan was in charge of the Israel Desk at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Amman. He has also served as personal assistant to the director of the National Security Council and was in charge of human rights and humanitarian affairs at Jordan’s mission to the U.N. in Geneva. Hassan replaces Ali Al-Ayed, who departed Washington June 30. Embassy of Latvia • Uvis Blums arrived in Washington, D.C, on Aug. 1 to assume the position of first secretary for consular affairs. Since 1999, Blums has been the head of the operational division of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Riga. From 1996 to 1998 he was posted in Warsaw, Poland. • Vineta Mekone, third secretary for consular affairs, has departed Washington, D.C. She returns to Riga to work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Embassy of St. Vincent and the Grenadines • Ellsworth I.A. Joh n became ambassador of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to the United States upon presenting credentials to President Bush on July 31. He is his country’s second resident ambassador to the United States after replacing Ambassador Kingston Layne. John comes to his position by way of the Organization of American States, where he had been serving since 1996 as regional coordinator for the Caribbean sub-region. Ambassador John has been a career public servant for most of his professional life. In the early 1980s, John served two terms as general secretary of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Public Service Union. Ambassador John also served as general secretary of the original Organization in Defense of Democracy that was instrumental in forcing the then-Labour Party administration to withdraw two bills that were considered repressive. In 1992, Ambassador John moved to Washington, D.C., as counselor in the embassy to the United States and as alternate representative to the OAS. Ambassador John has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Baruch College, City University of New York and a master’s degree in information systems from Strayer University. Embassy of Slovakia • Roman Michalcik arrived in Washington, D.C., on July 26 as a new attaché, replacing Slavomir Jamrick, who departed the city on July 31. Michalcik most recently served as a communication officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Embassy of Sweden • Peter Kanflo arrives in Washington, D.C. on September 3 to assume the position of counselor for political affairs. From 2000 to 2001, Kanflo served in Stockholm as the Head of the European Security Department. From 1994 to 1998 he was posted to the NATO-WEU delegation in Brussels. From 1990-1994 Kanflo served in the embassy in Moscow. • Jan Knutson, minister, has departed his position at the embassy in Washington. Embassy of Switzerland • Benédict de Cerjat, minister, has assumed the position of deputy chief of mission. From 1996-2000, de Cerjat served as chief of section at the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs in Bern, responsible for Middle East and Asia. Prior to that, he was counselor at the Swiss mission to the EU in Brussels. He has also served in Lima and Ottawa. Minister de Cerjat is married with six children. • Pierre Combernau, the previous deputy chief of mission, departed Washington in May. He travels to Nairobi as the new ambassador to Kenya, with accreditation to Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi. Embassy of Zimbabwe • Elita Tinoenda Sakupwanya, minister-counselor, arrived in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 1 to assume the position of deputy chief of mission.