Josep Borrell, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission announces the nomination of 40 Heads of Delegations and 1 Chargé d’affaires of the European Union.

The 40 Heads of Delegation will formally be appointed following the receipt of the official approval (agréments) from the respective host countries:

NIÑO PÉREZ Javier has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to the African Union.  He is currently the EEAS Director for AMERICAS and has previously served as Head of the EEAS United States and Canada Division, and as Head of the EU Delegations to Haiti and Cuba.

BENTO PAIS Rosário has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to Angola.  She is currently EU Ambassador to Gabon. Ms. Bento Pais has previously served as Head of Unit for Local Authorities, Civil Society Organisations and Foundations in the Directorate-General for International Partnerships of the European Commission.

MARAGOS Vassilis has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to Armenia. He is currently Head of Unit for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo in the Directorate-General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations of the European Commission. He has previously served as Head of Unit for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Eastern Partnership in the same Directorate-General.

SEAM Sujiro has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to ASEAN.  He is currently EU Ambassador to the Pacific Region (Fiji). He has previously served as Ambassador of France to Fiji.

NøRLOV Steen has been nominated as Chargé d’affaires of the EU to Belarus. He has previously served as Head of Office, Representative of the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe on the co-ordination of co-operation programmes of the Council of Europe in Ukraine. He has also served as the Deputy Head of Mission at the Danish Embassy to the Russian Federation.

SCHUEGRAF Marian has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to Brazil. She is currently Ambassador of Germany to Colombia. Ms. Schuegraf has also served as Director for Latin America and the Caribbean in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany.

ARISTI GAZTELUMENDI Daniel has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to Burkina Faso. He is currently Deputy Head of the EEAS Middle East – Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan Division. He has previously served as Head of the Economic, Environment and Development Affairs section of the EU Delegation to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Geneva.

PIETROBON Elisabetta has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to Burundi. She is currently serving as Head of Political, Press and Information section of the EU Delegation to Eritrea. She has previously served as Policy Advisor in the Secretariat of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament.

DRIESMANS Igor has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia. He is currently EU Ambassador to ASEAN and EU Special Envoy for Myanmar. He has also served as Member of Cabinet of the former High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice President Federica Mogherini.

CHATAIGNER Jean-Marc has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to the Republic of Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. He is currently EU Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo and served previously as French Ambassador/Special Envoy for the Sahel.

BERLANGA MARTINEZ Nicolás has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo. He is currently Coordinator for Maritime Security in the Gulf of Guinea and Advisor on Migration to the EEAS Managing Director for AFRICA. He has previously served as the EU Ambassador to Somalia and Togo.

LEMPEREUR Pierre-Louis has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to Costa Rica. He is currently Deputy Head of the EEAS Budget and Post Management Division and has previously served as Head of the Political, Press and Information section of the EU Delegation to Singapore.

ABADIE Cécile has been nominated as the EU Ambassador in Gabon to Sao Tome-and-Principe and the Economic Community of Central African States. She is currently Deputy Head of the EEAS Sanctions Division. She has also served as Head of the Political, Press and Information section of the EU Delegation to Morocco.

DELPHIN Hervé has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to India and Bhutan. He is currently Head of the EEAS Policy, Planning and Strategic Foresight Division. He has previously served as Head of Unit responsible for Middle East and Southwest Asia in the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations of the European Commission.

CHAIBI Denis has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam.  He is currently serving as EU Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives. He has previously also served as a Deputy Head of Cabinet for former Commissioner Georgieva responsible for budget and human resources and as Deputy Head of the pre-enlargement EU Delegation to Cyprus.

SEILER Thomas has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to Iraq. He is currently Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Pakistan. He has previously also served as Deputy Head of the EEAS Division responsible for Middle East, Israel, Occupied Palestinian Territories and Middle East Peace Process.

CHATZISAVAS Pierre-Christophe has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to Jordan. He is currently Political Assistant to the EEAS Deputy Secretary-General for Peace, Security and Defense. He has previously also served in the EEAS Division responsible for Western Balkans, and as Counsellor advising on North Africa and Middle East affairs at the EU Delegation to the United Nations in New York.

KOISTINEN Anne has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to Kuwait. She is currently Deputy Head of the EEAS Integrated Approach-Methodology and Implementation Division.  She has previously also served as Head of sector in the EEAS Division responsible for Missions Staffing Policy in the Managing Directorate for Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability.  Ms. Koistinen has also served as Head of the Political, Press and Information section in the EU Delegation in Egypt and at the EU Delegation to the United Nations in Geneva.

DE WAELE Sandra has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to Lebanon. She is currently Head of the EEAS Sanctions Division and has previously served as Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Egypt and as Head of the Political, Press and Information Sections in the EU Delegations to Thailand and Israel.

DEPREZ Nona has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to Liberia. She is currently EU Ambassador to Nepal. She has also served as Head of Unit responsible for the Partnership Instrument in the Service for Foreign Policy Instruments of the European Commission.

ORLANDO Nicola has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to Libya.  He is currently the Special Envoy for Libya of the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He previously served as Ambassador of Italy to Kosovo.

BECKER Dietrich has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to Mali. He is currently Ambassador of Germany to Iceland and has previously served as Ambassador of Germany to Mali.

BENEDIKT Oskar has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to the Republic of Mauritius and to the Republic of Seychelles.  He is currently Head of the EEAS Local Agents Division. He has previously served as Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia.

MARTINS Ana Beatriz has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to Namibia. She is currently Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Brazil. She also served as Deputy Head of the EEAS Division Horn of Africa, East Africa.

LORENZO Veronique has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to Nepal. She is currently Head of the EEAS South America Division. She has previously also served as Head of the EU Delegation to Somalia.

MEREDITH Lawrence has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to New Zealand. He is currently Director responsible for Neighbourhood East and Institution Building in the Directorate-General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations of the European Commission. He has also served as Head of Unit responsible for Strategy, Policy, Planning, EEA/EFTA in the same Directorate-General.

KOKKINAKIS Christina has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to the OECD and UNESCO in Paris and to the Principalities of Andorra and Monaco. She is currently EEAS Director for Values and Multilateral Relations. She has previously also served as Ambassador/Representative of Austria to the Political and Security Committee of the European Union.

PLINKERT Barbara has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to the Pacific (Fiji). She is currently Head of the EEAS South-East Asia Division and has previously served as Head of the EU Delegation to Singapore.

FARNAUD Christophe has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Sultanate of Oman. He is currently Special Envoy for the Minister, in charge of separatism issues in the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He has also served as Director-General for Middle East and North Africa in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France. He has previously also served as Ambassador of France to South Africa and Lesotho.

JOHANSSON Karin has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to Somalia. She is currently Deputy Head of the EEAS Horn of Africa, East Africa Division. She has previously served as Policy Officer for Somalia in the same Division and has also served in the EU delegation to Egypt.

MORENO RAYMUNDO Carmen has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives.  She is currently EU Ambassador to Cambodia. Ms. Moreno Raymundo has also served as Ambassador of Spain to Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia.

GRAU Christine has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to the United Republic of Tanzania and the East African Community. She is currently Head of the EEAS Migration and Human Security Division. She has also served as Head of Unit responsible for inter-institutional relations, communication, and policy making in the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs of the European Commission.

PĘKSA Beata has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to Turkmenistan. She is currently Minister Plenipotentiary within the Central Asia Division, Eastern Department in the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She has previously served as Ambassador/ Representative of Poland to the Political and Security Committee of the European Union.

MATHERNOVÁ Katarina has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to Ukraine. She is currently Deputy Director-General in the Directorate-General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations of the European Commission. She has previously served as Senior Adviser and Manager at the World Bank for the European and Central Asia Vice Presidency.

LAMBRINIDIS Stavros has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to the United Nations in New York. He is currently EU Ambassador to the United States of America. He has previously served as the European Union Special Representative for Human Rights and as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece.

HALLERGÅRD Carl has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to the International Organisations in Vienna. He is currently EEAS Director for Middle East and North Africa. Mr. Hallergård has also served as Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to the UN and other International Organisations in Geneva.

BERGER Lucie has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. She is currently serving as Policy coordinator in the Unit of Multilateral Affairs in the Directorate-General for Climate Action of the European Commission. She has previously served as Head of the Trade and Economic Cooperation section of the EU Delegation to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Sultanate of Oman.

NELIUPŠIENĖ Jovita has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to the United States of America. She is currently Vice Minister for EU Affairs in the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She has previously served as Vice Minister in the Lithuanian Ministry of Economy and Innovations and as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Lithuania to the EU.

GUERRIER Julien has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to Vietnam. He is currently Director responsible for the Common Policy Centre in the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission. He has formerly also served as Director for the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (EASME).

STUTZMANN Alexandre has been nominated as Head of the EU Representation Office to West Bank & Gaza Strip, UNRWA. He is currently seconded to the EU Delegation to the United Nations in New York as Special Adviser to the President of the UN General Assembly. He has previously served as Director for parliamentary committees-external policies at the European Parliament.

STASIAK Karolina has been nominated as the EU Ambassador to Zambia and COMESA. She is currently Head of the EEAS Support to Delegations Division. She has also served as Deputy of the EEAS Division responsible for West Africa. Ms. Stasiak has previously served as Head of Political, Press and Information Section to the EU Delegation to Senegal.

The EEAS has also nominated nine new Deputy Heads of Delegation of the European Union:

BOU Jean-Pierre has been nominated as Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Brazil. He is currently Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Mexico. He also served as Deputy Head of the EEAS South America Division and as Head of political, Information, Economy and Trade Section in EU Delegation to Cameroon.

LENTZ Mattias has been nominated as Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to the People’s Republic of China. He is currently Swedish Ambassador to Iran. He also served as Senior Advisor on China in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Sweden and Head of the Political, Press and Information Section, in EU Delegations to the Philippines and China.

SCHOUW Anne has been nominated as Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Egypt. She is currently Counsellor in the EU Delegation to the United Nations in New York.  She also served as Deputy Head of Mission in the Danish Embassy to Morocco.

SIMEK Ondrej has been nominated as Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Kenya. He is currently Policy Officer responsible for South Africa and Botswana in the EEAS Southern Africa and Indian Ocean Division. He has also served as Head of the Political, Press and Information section of the EU Delegation to Rwanda.

PALATOVA Eva has been nominated as Deputy Head of the EU Office in Kosovo. She is currently Head of the Political, Press and Information section of the EU Delegation to Canada. She has also served as Diplomatic Advisor and Member of Cabinet of Guy Verhofstadt, President of the ALDE Group of the European Parliament.

ROPONEN Suvi has been nominated as Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Mexico. She is currently Political Assistant of the EEAS Deputy Secretary-General for Economic and Global Issues. She has also served as Policy Adviser in the EEAS Strategic Policy Planning Division, in the Office of the President of the UN General Assembly, and at the EU Delegation in New York.

GROSS Philipp Oliver has been nominated as Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Pakistan. He is currently Deputy Head of the EEAS Division responsible for Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Pacific. He also served as Head of the Political, Press and Information section of the EU Delegations to China and Venezuela

GARRIDO RUIZ Fulgencio has been nominated as Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to the Republic of South Africa. He is currently Policy Assistant to the Director-General for the Directorate-General of International Partnerships of the European Commission. He also served as Head of the Political section of the EU Delegation to Somalia.

SAMSON Hedda has been nominated as Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to the United Nations in New York. She is currently Ambassador of The Netherlands to Switzerland and Liechtenstein. She also served as Head of the Political department of the Permanent Mission of the Netherlands to the United Nations in New York.