AMBASSADOR JANEZ LENARCIC ASSUMES NEW FUNCTION AS DIRECTOR OF ODIHR
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01 July, 2008
"I am fully aware of the tremendous responsibilities that this position
entails, and of the many challenges that lie ahead. I will focus on
preserving the integrity of ODIHR as the primary OSCE institution
dealing with human rights and democracy," said Lenarcic.
He added that he will build on his predecessors’ legacy, in close
co-operation with participating States and other OSCE institutions and
structures. Lenarcic succeeds Ambassador Christian Strohal of Austria,
who headed the ODIHR for over five years.
Lenarcic, born in Ljubljana in 1967, has an extensive background in
OSCE affairs. He was the Slovenian Ambassador to the OSCE from 2003
to 2006. In 2005, when Slovenia held the OSCE’s rotating Chairmanship,
he chaired the Permanent Council, the Organization’s regular political
decision-making body.
In the run-up and during the 2008 Slovenian EU Presidency, Lenarcic
was State Secretary for European Affairs. Previously, he also served
as Diplomatic Adviser in the office of the Slovenian Prime Minister and
in the Permanent Mission of Slovenia to the United Nations in New York.