Catherine Ashton, European Union's foreign policy chief, Friday announced the appointment of Spanish diplomat Luis Felipe Fernandez de la Pena as the new Managing Director for Europe and Central Asia in the European External Action Service (EEAS).
"I am delighted to appoint Ambassador Fernandez de la Pena to this important position in the External Action Service," Ashton said in an EU press release announcing the new appointment.
"His considerable expertise and experience of working with European and Central Asian countries will be a great asset to us as we look to the many challenges we must face together in the coming years," she added.
La Pena is currently Ambassador of Spain to the Russian Federation, Armenia, Belarus, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. He has previously served as Director General for North America, Asia and the Pacific in the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. Prior to that he was the Spanish Ambassador to Turkey and Azerbaijan.
Notably, the post of managing director for Europe and Central Asia had been vacant ever since La Pena's predecessor, Miroslav Lajcak, was appointed Slovakia's foreign minister in March.
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