ID
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08BELGRADE1268 |
SUBJECT
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SERBIA: GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES NEW AMBASSADORS SANS AGREMENT |
DATE
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2008-12-10 14:02:00 |
CLASSIFICATION
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UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY |
ORIGIN
|
Embassy Belgrade |
TEXT
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UNCLAS BELGRADE 001268
SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A Summary ——- ¶1. (SBU) At its weekly session on November 20, the Serbian government (GOS) endorsed the appointment of seven new ambassadors, even though we later learned from MFA contacts that the government had not yet requested agrement for the ambassadors-designate. This lapse of diplomatic protocol may come back to bite the GOS. The appointments generated significant press coverage due to the public profile of two of the appointees, former Politika daily editor-in-chief Ljiljana Smajlovic and former Serbian Ambassador to Washington Milan St. Protic, and it would be embarrassing for the government if agrement is not secured. End Summary. Courtesy Bios ————- ¶2. (U) As a courtesy, we would like to provide our colleagues in Bern, Bucharest, Ottawa, Paris, and Warsaw with the following brief biographies for the ambassadors-designate. Biographic information for the additional two appointees, Ivo Viskovic to Berlin and Stanislav Stakic to Rabat, is not yet available and will be forwarded septel. Canada —— Ljiljana Smajlovic Ambassador of Serbia to Canada Ljiljana Smajlovic was born in 1956 in Sarajevo. After graduating from the University of Sarajevo Faculty of Political Science, Smajlovic received scholarships to study in Cleveland, Ohio and then in Algeria. She visited the United States on the International Visitors Program in the late 1980’s. France —— Dusan Batakovic Ambassador of Serbia to France Dusan Batakovic was born in Belgrade in 1957. He graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Belgrade, gaining bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history. Batakovic received his PhD in history from the University of Paris – Sorbonne, Paris IV (magna cum laude). Poland —— Radojko Bogojevic Ambassador of Serbia to Poland Radojko Bogojevic was born in 1948 in Belgrade. He graduated from the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Political Science. In 1973, Bogojevic joined the Federal Secretariat for Foreign Affairs (FSFA). From 1976 – 1980, he served as Second Secretary at the Yugoslav Embassy in Guyana and from 1980-1983 he worked for the North American Department of the FSFA. In 1983, he was appointed First Secretary in the Yugoslav Embassy in Finland. He then served as First Counselor for the FSFA International Organizations Department from 1987-1989. From 1989-1992, Bogojevic headed the UK, Ireland and Nordic States Group, West European Department at the FSFA. From 1992-1998, Bogojevic served as Charge d’affairs in the Yugoslav Embassy in London before receiving an appointment as Director of the Department for the Americas from 1998-2000. In 2000, he was appointed Director of the Department for Europe and in January 2001, was appointed an assistant to the Foreign Minister. In 2002, he was named Ambassador to Egypt where he served until 2005 when he became Serbian Ambassador to Sudan. In 2006, Bogojevic became a State Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On November 20, 2008, he was appointed Ambassador to Poland. He speaks English and French. He is married and has two children. Romania ——- Zoran S. Popovic Ambassador of Serbia to Romania Zoran S. Popovic was born in 1949 in Vrsac, Serbia. He graduated from the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philology. As a student, he spent some time in Moscow. From 1970-1974, Popovic worked as a journalist at the Tanjug news agency as an international affairs desk officer. He was promoted to international correspondent in 1974 and worked in Cyprus until 1978. SWITZERLAND ———– Milan St. Protic Ambassador of Serbia to SWITZERLAND Milan St. Protic (pronounced “suh-tuh pro-tich”) was born in 1957 in Belgrade. He graduated from the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Law in 1980. He continued his studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he gained his Masters (1982) and PhD (1987). Comment ——- ¶3. (SBU) The failure to seek agrement before announcing these ambassadorial appointments unfortunately is symbolic of a broader lack of professionalism in the MFA. In a recent interview, former Serbian Ambassador to the Vatican and Turkey Darko Tanaskovic spoke about the increasing number of diplomatic gaffes caused by Serbian diplomats’ inexperience and ignorance and advocated for a personnel system that would value merit over party or political affiliation. Introducing such a system would begin to address the endemic deficiencies that afflict the Serbian diplomatic corps and perhaps prevent debacles such as the role played by Serbian Consulate staff in New York in helping fugitive Miladin Kovacevic flee to Serbia. End Comment. MUNTER |
HEADER
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VZCZCXYZ0000 RR RUEHWEB DE RUEHBW #1268/01 3451435 XTAGS: XTAGPINR, XTAGPREL, XTAGCA, XTAGFR, XTAGGM, XTAGMO, XTAGPL, XTAGRO, XTAGSZ, XTAGSR 08BELGRADE1268 |
TAGS
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PINR PREL CA FR GM MO PL RO SZ SR |
ADDED
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2011-04-28 00:12:00 |
STAMP
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2011-04-29 00:48:16 |
VOTE_POINTS
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0 |
VOTE_COUNT
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0 |
VOTE_RATING
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0 |
PRIORITY
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RR |
TWEETS
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0 |
MANUAL
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N |
SITELINK
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ISNEW
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N |
FINGERPRINT1
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7f64d0a13621dfa4eb41cbb96b7246f2 |