Dutch diplomat Feith appointed EU Special Representative in Kosovo

February 16, 2008

Dutch diplomat Pieter Feith was appointed today in Brussels, Belgium as Special Representative for the European Union in Kosovo. Feith will be the highest ranking E.U. representative in Kosovo, and will remain in function until February 2009. He will be in close contact with E.U. Secretary-General Javier Solana and the ministers of foreign affairs from the E.U. countries.

Dutch minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Verhagen is pleased by Feith's appointment. "The Special Representative for the E.U. in Kosovo is a figurehead. It is good news that the choice for this very important function is made for a Dutchman at this time," says Verhagen. "I am convinced that Pieter Feith will approach the situation with good sense."

Feith, 63, started his career at age 25 at the ministry of Foreign Affairs. He worked at the Dutch embassies of Syria, Germany and Sudan, at the United Nations headquarters in New York and at NATO in Brussels. In 2004 he represented E.U. in Darfur and prepared an E.U.-mission in Iraq that trained police-officials and judges. A year later Feith was in charge of the E.U. operation in Aceh and supervised the peace negotiations between the Indonesian government and the rebels.