Home News Appointments
By Cari
Lone Dencker Wisborg became ambassador of Denmark to the United States on April 8, 2019.
Most recently, she served as state secretary and chief operating officer in the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as ambassador to Spain (2011-15). Ambassador Wisborg has been with the Danish Foreign Service for more than 25 years and held various positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including: state secretary for foreign policy (2015-17); undersecretary for global security (2009-11); and head of Department for Security Policy (2007-09). Ambassador Wisborg also worked as chief operating officer for the Bikuben Foundation from 2006 to 2007. Prior to that, she served as deputy head of mission at the Embassy of Denmark in Warsaw (2004-06) and as private secretary to the minister for foreign affairs (2001-03). In addition, she was head of section in the International Department of the Danish Parliament (2001-03); first secretary at the Embassy of Denmark in Tallinn; and head of section in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Ambassador Wisborg holds a master's of law degree from Aarhus University and has a teenage son.
Stavros Lambrinidis became ambassador of the European Union to the United States on April 8, 2019, having previously served as the EU special representative for human rights from 2012 to February 2019.
In 2011, Ambassador Lambrinidis was the foreign affairs minister of Greece, prior to which he was twice elected as a member of the European Parliament (2004-11) with the Greek Social Democratic Party (PASOK). He served as vice president of the European Parliament (2009-11); vice president of the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee (2004-09); and head of the PASOK Delegation (2005-11). Between 2000 and 2004, he was director-general of the International Olympic Truce Centre, an International Olympic Committee organization. He also served as ambassador ad personam of the Hellenic Republic (1999-2004); secretary-general of the Greek Foreign Ministry, responsible for expatriate Greeks (1996-99); and chief of staff to the Greek Foreign Minister (1996). Between 1988 and 1993, he worked as an attorney at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering in Washington, D.C., specializing in international trade, transactions and arbitration.
Ambassador Lambrinidis, who was born in Athens in 1962, studied economics and political science at Amherst College and law at Yale Law School, where he was also managing editor of The Yale Journal of International Law. He is married Phoebe Kapouano and has a daughter, Chloe.
Joao Godinho Alves became commercial counselor on Jan. 4, 2019, superseding Ana Maria Alberto, who departed the post on Dec. 20, 2018. Alves previously served as deputy director general of the Mozambique Investment Promotion Centre from 2010 to 2017.
Monica Ndiliawike Nashandi became ambassador of Namibia to the United States on Jan. 11, 2019.
She previously served as Namibian ambassador to Ethiopia, Djibouti and South Sudan, as well as permanent representative to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (2016-18). From 2010 to 2016, she worked at the Namibia Power Corp. (NamPower) as divisional manager of strategy corporate communication and electrification in the Office of the Managing Director Business Unit. In addition, Ambassador Nashandi previously served as deputy executive director of the private office of the president (2005-09); deputy permanent secretary of multilateral affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2004-05); high commissioner to the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (1999-2004); and ambassador to Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark and Iceland (1995-99). She was also undersecretary of political and economic affairs (1991-95) and deputy chief of protocol (1990-91) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ambassador Nashandi held various roles in the SWAPO (South West African People's Organization) party of Namibia, including public relations officer in Windhoek (1989-90); deputy representative to the SWAPO Observer Mission to the United Nations in New York (1987-89); and a member of the Central Committee of the SWAPO Youth League and of the Secretariat in Luanda, Angola (1980-87). She was also a member of the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) from 1978 to 1980.
Ambassador Nashandi survived the Battle of Cassinga, a South African airborne attack on a SWAPO camp, in 1978, which was the year she went into exile. She holds a diploma in youth development from the Commonwealth Youth Program in conjunction with the University of Zambia, as well as a master's degree in diplomatic studies from the University of Westminster in Britain.
Born Oct. 12, 1959, Ambassador Nashandi speaks English, Portuguese, Afrikaans and Oshiwambo. She is married with three children ages 34, 28 and 7.
Rosemary Banks became ambassador of New Zealand to the United States on Jan. 11, 2019.
She has had a 40-year career in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, including six overseas assignments. She was permanent representative to the United Nations in New York and ambassador to France and Portugal, as well as New Zealand's permanent representative to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OECD. Ambassador Banks also served as deputy chief of mission of the New Zealand Embassy in Australia and the Solomon Islands. As deputy secretary in New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, she was responsible for multilateral, legal and consular affairs. She coordinated the emergency responses to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Bali bombings and the Asian tsunami. Drawing on these experiences, she led the development of a new emergency response system and guidance manual. Earlier Wellington-based positions include director of development assistance, director of the North Asia Division, director of public affairs and foreign policy adviser to the foreign affairs minister.
Ambassador Banks holds a master's degree in Russian with first-class honors from Canterbury University and a master's of science degree from the London School of Economics.
Asad Majeed Khan became ambassador of Pakistan to the United States on Jan. 11, 2019, having previously served as Pakistan's ambassador to Japan since August 2017.
A career diplomat with over 29 years of experience, Ambassador Khan has held various positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including additional foreign secretary of the Americas from August 2016 to July 2017; director general of the Americas from June 2016 to August 2016; and director general of West Asia from September 2015 to February 2016, overseeing Pakistan's bilateral relations with Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. He was previously posted to the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, D.C., as deputy chief of mission (2012-15) and chargé d'affaires (2013-14). He also served as additional secretary of foreign affairs at the President's Secretariat in Islamabad, handling a range of peace and security issues for the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Defence and Narcotics. In addition, as director general of the United Nations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2010 to 2011, he worked on a range of issues including terrorism, peacekeeping, U.N. reforms, human rights and sustainable development. From 2004 to 2010, Ambassador Khan served as minister-counselor at the Pakistani Permanent Mission to the U.N. in New York, where he represented Pakistan in the U.N.'s Second Committee and the Economic and Social Council. During this time, he served as the chief coordinator for the Group of 77 during Pakistan's G77 chairmanship at the U.N. in 2007, as well as vice chair of the Bureau of the U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development from 2010 to 2011. Prior postings include director of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation in Islamabad, director of economic coordination at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and second secretary at the Pakistani Embassy in Japan.
Ambassador Khan earned his doctorate in international economic and business law (LL.D.) from Kyushu University in Japan and has been a resource person at various academic institutions in Pakistan, including International Islamic University in Lahore; University of Management Sciences; Foreign Trade Institute of Pakistan; and Foreign Services Academy on International Trade, Law and WTO Affairs. He is married with two children.
Manuel María Cáceres became ambassador of Paraguay to the United States on Jan. 11, 2019, having previously served as ambassador to Brazil (2014-18), deputy foreign minister of Paraguay (2013; 2002-03) and vice minister of economic relations and integration (2010-13).
Ambassador Cáceres previously served in Washington, D.C., as minister at the Paraguayan Embassy (1995-96) and alternate representative to the Organization of American States (1993-94). In addition, Ambassador Cáceres has served as permanent representative of Paraguay to the OAS in D.C. (2005-09); ambassador to Argentina (2004); ambassador to the European Union and Belgium (1997-2001); and general director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1990-92).
He studied at the School of Law and Diplomacy at the Catholic University "Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion" in Asunción, Paraguay, and holds a master's in law degree from Harvard Law School. Born Dec. 21, 1960, in Villarica, Paraguay, Ambassador Cáceres is married to Ana María Sisa Cáceres and has two children, Sebastián and María Paz.
Carlos Alfredo Vecchio became the U.S.-recognized ambassador of Venezuela to the United States on April 8, 2019.
Vecchio was born on June 6, 1969, in Caripe, Venezuela, the youngest of three children, to Maria Teresa Demari de Vecchio, a teacher, and Rafael Vecchio, a political activist and three-term council person for Caripe. He moved to Caracas in 1987, studied at the Central University of Venezuela and earned his law degree in 1992. He did postgraduate studies in law at Georgetown University and public administration at Harvard University, where he was a Fulbright scholar at the Kennedy School of Government. In 2009, he joined Leopoldo López and Juan Guaidó to found the Voluntad Popular (Popular Will) party to oppose then-Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. In February 2014, after Nicolás Maduro came to power, López called for protests and the opposition leader was arrested shortly afterward. An arrest warrant was also issued for Vecchio, who fled to the United States. In January 2019, Vecchio was named by Interim President Juan Guaidó to serve as chargé d'affaires of the shuttered Venezuelan Embassy in D.C.
Last Edited on April 30, 2019