Former US State Department Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, Ambassador Kathleen Kavalec has been appointed the new Head of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, learns N1.

The US diplomat will assume duties on 24 September 2019.

Ambassador Kavalec held a variety of diplomatic assignments, serving as Director for Russian Affairs in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, as well as the Deputy Permanent Delegate and Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Mission to the UNESCO in Paris.

She was also the Deputy Co-ordinator for US Assistance to Europe, Eurasia and Central Asia and served as the Director of Conflict Prevention in the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization. Her overseas assignments have included services in various locations, including Russia, Ukraine, Romania and Brazil. She is the recipient of a number of State Department awards, as well as a Presidential Rank Award.

Kavalec will replace Bruce Berton, also a US diplomat who served as the Head of the OSCE Mission in Bosnia from September 2017 to September 2019.