ROMANIAN CANDIDATE FOR UN SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BUCHAREST 000622 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL OPDC PINR UN SUBJECT: ROMANIAN CANDIDATE FOR UN SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR IRAQ ¶1. (SBU) At the request of outgoing MFA Director for UN Issues Petru Dumitriu, Polmiloff joined Dumitru's replacement, Gabriela Constantinescu, UK Poloff, and Iraqi Ambassador Murad to receive a diplomatic note (with CV copied below) expressing Romania's interest in advancing the candidacy of Ambassador Radu Onofrei, currently Ambassador in Amman, to be the UN Secretary General's Special Representative for Iraq. Ambassador Murad said he knows Onofrei well, and while he could not specifically say what might be Baghdad's reaction, he speculated that the candidacy would be warmly welcomed. He added that not only is Ambassador Onofrei a good Arabic speaker and energetic, but that more importantly he knows the Iraqi people and had good relations with the different parties. Dumitriu added that while it would be a real sacrifice for the MFA to lose one of its better Arabic speakers to the UN, it would underscore Romania's commitment to the international mission and Iraq's reconstruction. ¶2. (SBU) Begin Text of Diplomatic Note: No. C2 2/2853 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania presents its compliments to the Embassy of the United States of America in Bucharest and has the honour to communicate that the Government of Romania decided to present the candidature of HE Mr. Radu ONOFREI, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Romania to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, for the position of Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for Iraq. Ambassador Radu ONOFREI is an outstanding career diplomat with a wide expertise in the Middle East issues, having studied and worked in the region for more that 20 years. Moreover, his assignments in Iraq, from April to August 2003, as Special Representative of Romania for Iraq Reconstruction, Senior Advisor of the Coalition Provisional Authority for the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Representative of Romania with the Council for International Cooperation in Baghdad, highly recommend him for this position. Details of the academic and professional background of Mr. Onofrei are to be found in the Curriculum Vitae, herewith attached. In this regards, the Romanian Government would highly appreciate the valuable support of the Government of the United States of America for this candidature. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania avails itself of this opportunity to renew the Embassy of the United States of America the assurances of its highest consideration. Bucharest, 25 May, 2007 End Text ¶4. (SBU) Begin Text of Curriculum Vitae First Name: Radu Last Name: Onofrei DOB: March 24, 1953 POB: Bucharest, Romania Nationality: Romanian Marital Status: Married; one daughter Academic Record 1968-72 Graduate of the Arts and Humanities High School, Bucharest 1972-73 Graduate of a two-year term of philological studies, Faculty of Romance Languages, Classic and Oriental Studies; University of Bucharest 1973-78 Graduate of the Institute of Political Sciences and Communication, University of Algiers; 1973-77 4-year Program of the Centre of Arabic Language and Culture at the University of Algiers; Training Courses: Secretarial Management (Bucharest, Romania, 1980); International Trade Program (Bucharest, Romania, 1987); IT Technologies Applications (Bucharest, Romania, 1991); European Integration (Brussels, 1999 and 2001). Professional Record December 2003 to present - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Romania to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; 2003 (April - August) BUCHAREST 00000622 002 OF 002 - Special Representative of Romania for Iraq Reconstruction; - Senior Advisor of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) for the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs; - Representative of Romania with the Council for International Cooperation in Baghdad; 2001-2003 - Director for the Middle East and Africa Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; 1997-2001 Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Romania to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; 1993-1997 Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Romania to the Arab Republic of Egypt; 1990-1993 Director for the Middle East Department, Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; 1986-1990 Diplomat, desk officer for the Gulf countries, Middle East and Asia Department, Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; 1980-1986 Attache and 3rd Secretary at the Romanian Embassy in Baghdad; 1979 Joined the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; 1978 Postgraduate internship - Radio Bucharest, International Broadcasting Program for the Middle East Titles and Awards High Order of the Faithful Service (2000) Diploma of Merit of WWF (2001) Diploma of Diplomatic Excellence (2003) Other Activities Founding and Honorary Member of the Romanian-Egyptian Chamber of Commerce and the Romanian-British Chamber of Commerce; Founding member and member of the Board of the Romanian Foundation "Pro-Patrimonio"; Co-founder of the Centre for Arab Studies; University of Bucharest; Initiator of the Summit for the Protection of the Environment and Sustainable Development in the Carpathian and Danube Region (Bucharest, 2001); 1992-93; 2002-03 - Lecturer on the Middle East at the Diplomatic Academy of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Language Proficiency: Fluent in English, Arabic, and French Hobbies: History, fine arts and classical music; drawing; gardening, swimming. End curriculum vitae. TAPLIN