A diplomat proposed for Lithuanian ambassador to Spain

Posted by editor on 11/03/09 • Categorized as Diplomatic news, Foreign Policy • Print This Post •

The BNS and Ziniu Radijas informed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have come with a proposal to fill in a vacant ambassador’s seat in Madrid. The informal reports suggest that Audra Plepyte-Jara, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry’s Personnel Department will be proposed to run the Lithuanian Embassy in Spain.

The controversy over the Lithuanian Ambassador to Spain began a year ago since it was vacant since 1 September 2008. Some commentators assumed that the position was not filled for all year because the ambassadorial position was held especially for Valteris Baliukonis, a former President Adamkus’ advisor.

The career diplomat Valteris Baliukonis received all necessary approvals for the position, including the agrement from Madrid. However, the new President Dalia Grybauskaite refused to designate Baliukonis to the post in mid-October.

The BNS informed that Plepyte-Jara, is a graduate of the Vilnius University and joined diplomatic service in 1994. In 1999-2002, she worked as deputy head of mission at Lithuania’s permanent mission to the United Nations (UN) in New York before taking a post in Lithuania’s permanent mission at the European Union (EU) in Brussels.