MACEDONIA'S AMBASSADOR-DESIGNATE TO WASHINGTON,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SKOPJE 001164 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/SCE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR MK SUBJECT: MACEDONIA'S AMBASSADOR-DESIGNATE TO WASHINGTON, ZORAN JOLEVSKI NEW AMBASSADOR-DESIGNATE ZORAN JOLEVSKI ¶1. (SBU) The Macedonian government has nominated Zoran Jolevski, a close associate of late President Trajkovski's and a longtime USAID local Chief of Party (COP),as Macedonia's next Ambassador to the United States. Never strongly identified with any single political party, Jolevski nevertheless quickly emerged as the governing VMRO-DPMNE party's top candidate for the position after the government withdrew Ambassador Ljupco Jordanovski following the latter's public media dispute with Macedonia's Ambassador in London. ECONOMIST AND VETERAN DIPLOMAT ¶2. (SBU) Zoran Jolevski was born in Skopje on July 16, 1959. He received an M.S. in Law and a PhD in International Economics, both from the University of Sts. Cyril and Methodius in Skopje. He worked at the Macedonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) from 1988-1999, first as Secretary to the Coordination Group on Former Yugoslavia Succession Issues, and later as first secretary at the Permanent Mission of Macedonia to the WTO and the UN Office in Geneva (1994-1998). In his last year at the MFA, he was the deputy national coordinator for humanitarian issues for Kosovo refugees, and also worked on WTO accession and other international trade and financial affairs issues. As coordinator for humanitarian issues, he helped manage the massive influx of donor assistance that supported the establishment of refugee camps and provided humanitarian assistance to the 200,000 or more Kosovar refugees who had fled to Macedonia during the 1999 Kosovo crisis. PRESIDENT TRAJKOVSKI'S RIGHT-HAND MAN ¶4. (SBU) From January 2000-May 2004 Jolevski served as the Secretary General of the Cabinet of then-President SIPDIS Trajkovski. He was considered to be one of the President's closest confidantes. In his post as Secretary General, Jolevski was a key interlocutor with the international community (IC). He received widespread praise from IC contacts for his constructive attempts at dealing with internally displaced persons (IDPs) during the 2001 Macedonian crisis. ¶5. (SBU) In addition to his other duties, Jolevski became an advocate for WTO accession and the development of Macedonia's trade policy. He carved out a niche for himself as the technical point person for WTO accession, and managed to help make Macedonia a WTO member in 2003. He was tentatively slated to serve as Ambassador to the UN Mission in Geneva in 2003, but never took the post, possibly because DUI (the eAlbanian party in power at the time),believed it was entitled to fill the position with someone from its own ranks. WORK WITH USAID AND ACADEMIC BACKGROUND ¶6. (SBU) Following Trajkovski's death, Jolevski decided to leave politics and official life in December 2003. He began working as USAID's COP for a Booz Allen and Hamilton project on WTO compliance (2004-2006) and for an on-going project on improving the Macedonian business environment. As a USAID COP, he helped to establish interministerial working groups that fulfilled numerous WTO requirements, including the ongoing fight against intellectual property rights infringements. ¶7. (SBU) Jolevski is the founder and president of the Institute for Economic Strategies and International Affairs - Ohrid and is a member of the presidency of the Macedonian Euro-Atlantic Club and the Skopje Lions Club. Well-traveled and erudite, Jolevski speaks English, Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian and some French. Jolevski is married to Suzana Jolevska, who works for a Macedonian commercial bank, and has two sons - Pero (18) and Filip Jolevski (14). COMMENT ¶8. (SBU) Jolevski is a solid, if not flashy, choice to succeed former Ambassador Jordanovski. He is well-respected by Macedonians, and by American colleagues, and there has never been even a hint in the local press -- which spares no SKOPJE 00001164 002 OF 002 one from accusations of improprieties -- that he is involved in any type of scandal. Jolevski seems more comfortable talking about economics than making diplomatic small talk, but he carries himself well in international settings. End comment. MILOVANOVIC