Spain's Jose-Luis Herrero appointed Head of OSCE Mission to Skopje

SKOPJE, 12 January 2009 - Ambassador Jose-Luis Herrero from Spain took office today as the new Head of the OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje.

Prior to his appointment, Ambassador Herrero was the Head of the OSCE Office in Baku, Azerbaijan.

"The OSCE has played a significant role in the region and in this country in particular, by building confidence among people of different ethnicities through supported reforms in police, judiciary and public administration. I am looking forward to be part of the OSCE's efforts in the region," said Ambassador Herrero.

Ambassador Herrero has long experience in the areas of political affairs, civil affairs, human rights and media, including with the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, the UN Spokesman's Office in Geneva, the UN Human Rights Field Operation in Rwanda, the UN Civilian Mission in Haiti and Amnesty International's Secretariat in London.

Prior to joining the OSCE he served as Director General of FRIDE, an independent Madrid-based research institute focusing on peace and security, democratization, development and human rights.

Ambassador Herrero holds a master in public administration from Harvard University and a master of arts in political science and sociology from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

He succeeds Ambassador Giorgio Radicati from Italy.

For more information on the new Head of Mission please visit www.osce.org/skopje