New US Ambassador arrives in Kosovo

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Gazeta Express

09/01/2022 19:31

Newly appointed US Ambassador to Kosovo, Jeff Hovenier, has arrived in Pristina, Gazeta Express reports.  

Chargé d’Affaires, at the US Embassy Pristina, Nicholas Giacobbe, has announced that the new Ambassador Hovenier has already arrived in Kosovo. “Today I welcomed Ambassador-designate Jeff Hovenier to Pristina. It has been an honour to serve as Chargé d’Affaires for the past several months. Continue to follow @UsAmbKosovo for updates on Ambassador Hovenier’s first weeks, including his credentialing ceremony tomorrow,” Giacobbe wrote on Twitter.

The US Embassy has announced 0n 28 December 2021 that Jeffrey Hovenier was sworn in by Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Kosovo.

Jeffrey M. Hovenier, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor, served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, where he served as Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. from August 2018 through July 2019.  Prior to that, he was Acting Deputy Chief of Mission and Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, Germany.   He has also served at U.S. missions in Croatia, Greece, Panama, Paraguay, and Peru; at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE); on the staff of the UN Special Envoy for Kosovo Status; and on temporary assignments in Serbia, Montenegro, and the U.S. delegation to the 1999 Kosovo Peace Talks. His Washington assignments include service as Director for Central and Southeastern European Affairs at the National Security Council and in the State Department’s European Bureau with responsibility for NATO and Central European Affairs. Mr. Hovenier has spent much of his career, spanning over 31 years, in the European and Eurasia region with a focus on security issues.  This extensive and substantive experience in the region, coupled with his management experience and demonstrated ability to lead large interagency teams as well as policy-oriented offices, makes him a well-qualified candidate to be the U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo.

Hovenier has received numerous Superior Honor and Senior Performance Awards and holds government honors from the Republic of Kosovo.  A native of Washington State, he has a Master’s degree from Georgetown University and a Bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University.  He speaks German, Greek, Croatian, and Spanish. /GazetaExpress/