Archives

Mr. Zdenko Lucić

Zdenko Lucić, State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs has more than 15 years of experience in attracting and facilitating domestic and foreign investments, regional and local development, as well as business processes. He has extensive knowledge and experience in Croatian public and private sectors.

Zdenko started his professional career as the founder of a company specializing in marketing and business process development. After that, he first worked in the Trade and Investment Promotion Agency of the Republic of Croatia, after which he moved to the Ministry of Economy. During his assignment in Ministry of Economy he helped to form numerous important legal acts in the field of investments.

In 2012 he became Acting Director of the Agency for Investments and Competitiveness in charge of establishing the Agency, setting up business processes, and developing operational strategy. He served as Director for Sector for Investments and Managing Director afterward. During his term of office, the Agency has won international awards for the best Investment Project in Eastern Europe three years in a row (2014, 2015 and 2016).

In 2019 Zdenko assumed the position of State Secretary for Investments, PPP, and Competitiveness at the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts.

In the Autumn 2020 he was appointed as State Secretary for Economic Diplomacy and Trade Policy at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs.

He was also Member of the Supervisory Board of Croatian Energy Market Operator (HROTE) and a National Coordinator in Croatia for the European Fund for Strategic Investments (Juncker investment plan).

Zdenko Lucić, was born in 1982. In 2005 he graduated with high honors from the Rochester Institute of Technology, NY, USA and he completed MBA Postgraduate Study at the University of Zagreb, Croatia. He speaks English and uses the German language.

Mr. Peter Svec

EDUCATION

1988 -1995 University of Economics in Bratislava, Faculty of Business Management

 

EMPLOYMENT

2022 – present Ministry of Economy of The Slovak Republic State secretary

2006 – 2022, Stellantis Slovakia (PCA Slovakia, s.r.o.), Director for External Relations and Spokesperson

2003 – 2006, Heineken Slovensko, a.s. Member of the Senior Management Platform, Spokesperson

2001 – 2003, Slovenska sporitel’na, a.s. Member of Senior Management, Director of Marketing, Spokesperson of treBoard

1998 – 2001, Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic, Spokesperson

1995 -1998, TREND, weekly economic journal, Reporter and Commentator

 

STUDY STAYS

2000, Freedom House, 10-week fellowship

 

LANGUAGES

English, French: Advanced

German, Russian: Limited working proficiency

 

ORGANIZATIONS

2005-2006, Slovak Association for Branded Products, Chairman of the Board

2005- 2009, Slovak Spokespersons’ Association, Chairman, co-founder

2017 – 2020, Industrial Innovation Cluster, Secretary-General

2020- 2022, Automotive Industry Association of the Slovak Republic, Member of the Executive Committee

2000-2022, ICEJ Slovensko, o. z.

 

Bratislava, November 2022

Ambassador Xiao Junzheng

Male, born in March 1970, Ji’an, Jiangxi Province, and holds a PhD degree in history

1997-1998     Assistant Research Fellow, China Institute of International Studies

1998-2002     Third Secretary, Second Secretary, the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Islamic Republic of Iran

2002-2003     Assistant Research Fellow, China Institute of International Studies

2003-2008     Second   Secretary,    Deputy    Division    Chief,    Division    Chief,   the Department of West Asian and North African Affairs, MFA

2008-2012     Counselor, the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of Turkey

2012-2019     Counselor, Deputy Director General, the Department of West Asian and North African Affairs, MFA

2019-2021     Minister Counselor, Minister, the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Arab Republic of Egypt

2021-             Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to the Hellenic Republic

Married

Dr. Christos Dimas

Dr Christos Dimas is the Deputy Minister for Development and Investments in charge of Research and Innovation. He is a lawyer and Member of the Hellenic Parliament representing New Democracy in the district of Korinthia.

Before entering politics, he worked in the private sector as a business consultant for The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

He was born on the 29th of May 1980. He graduated from the Law School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and Queen Mary University in London.

He completed his Master Degree in Comparative Politics at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He then finished his PhD in European Political Economy from the LSE, with a scholarship from the Alexander Onassis Foundation.

Parallel to his studies, he worked as a correspondent in London for Apogevmatini newspaper while also practicing journalism at the BBC.

At the age of 25 he was a teaching assistant at the LSE while teaching at ICON College in the University of Leicester and was a research fellow at the Jean Monnet European Center of Excellence.

He was elected as an MP in the district of Korinthia, with New Democracy in the May 2012 elections and has been re-elected ever since.

In his spare time he enjoys playing football and basketball and reading history books

Mr. Wouter Zweers

Wouter Zweers is a Research Fellow with the EU and Global Affairs-research unit of the Netherlands Institute of International Relations ‘Clingendael’. His research revolves around the external dimension of EU policy-making, with a special focus on EU enlargement and the Eastern dimension of the European Neighbourhood Policy. Wouter coordinates Clingendael’s ‘Balkans Hub’, a project in which Clingendael engages with think tanks from the Western Balkans in joint research and events. He is the secretary of Russia and Eastern Europe Knowledge Alliance (REKA), a Dutch network of experts and practitioners dedicated to enhancing knowledge about Russia and Eastern Europe in The Netherlands and increasing its accessibility for both policymakers and the wider public. Wouter is motivated in his work by a firm belief in the power of sound policymaking to transform societies and enable them to prosper. He holds a BA in European Studies from the University of Amsterdam and a MA in International Public Management and Policy from the Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Ms. Eleni Marianou

Eleni Marianou is the Secretary General of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions. A Greek national and a multilingual barrister specialised in International and European law. She has extensive knowledge on European Affairs, grass roots experience and wide working practice with local and regional authorities at the European level. She worked as European Community Liaison Officer at the Central Union of Greek Municipalities and Cities, then as Cities networks Manager at the Council of European Municipalities and Regions and finally as Policy Director in Eurocities. Between 2001 and 2009 she ran the South West of England Brussels Office as its Director responsible for coordinating and ensuring strategic development of the region in Brussels and beyond. Ms Marianou has been active in Brussels for over 20 years. She is currently elected Secretary General of the CPMR and has been managing a growing team of 40 staff members based in the three CPMR premises in Rennes, Brussels and Barcelona. In office since 2010, she is responsible for advising and directing policy development and strategic leadership in the areas of territorial cohesion, EU governance, balanced competitiveness, maritime policy and sustainable development.

Ms. Alia El-Yassir

Ms. Alia El-Yassir (Canada) has been working with UN Women since 1997. Prior to assuming her role as Regional Director a.i for the Europe and Central Asia Regional Office, she was the Deputy Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia Regional Office and UN Women Special Representative in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), managing a complex portfolio of programmes and projects, as well as supporting the UNCT and HCT on establishing coordination mechanisms for tackling gender equality and women’s empowerment issues. She is part of the UNDG roster of gender experts and has supported other UNCTs in this capacity.

Before joining UN Women, she briefly worked with UNDP and was engaged in the education field. In addition to volunteering with a number of women’s and human rights NGOs, she has worked on educational media for children.

Alia El-Yassir graduated from McGill University in Montreal and pursued post-graduate studies in Education and Anthropology, with a specialization on Gender Studies at Ben Gurion University of the Negev.

Ambassador Lazar Comanescu

Ambassador Lazãr COMÃNESCU (born in 1949), is a graduate of the Bucharest University of Economic Studies (BUES) and a PhD in international economics of the same university. He also graduated the Sorbonne course of “Langue et civilisation françaises contemporaines”. He worked, from 1972 to 1982, in the in the Romanian Ministry of Foreign (Department of International Economic Organizations) then, from 1982 to 1990 as a lecturer Professor at BUES.

Back to the MFA in early 1990, he was deputy head of the Mission of Romania to the European Community in Brussels until November 1994 after which, until March 1998, he served successively as director general and Secretary of State for European and Euro-Atlantic affairs in the MFA. From March 1998 to May 2001, he was Ambassador to NATO and from May 2001 to April 2008 Ambassador to the EU. In April – December 2008 he was Minister of Foreign Affairs, and from 2009 to 2015Ambassador to Germany. Back to Bucharest in February 2015 he served until mid-November as Diplomatic Adviser to the President of Romania and from November 2015 to January 2017 again as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Subsequently, until June 2020, he was Senior Adviser (foreign relations) with the Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Ambassador COMÃNESCU has been awarded with:

* Order of Loyal Service with Great Cross (Romania):
* Grosses Verdienstkreuz (Germany);
* Légion d’Honneur au Grade d’Officer (France)

Ambassador COMÃNESCU has also been a member of the Scientific boards of two Romanian Think-Tanks: European Institue and New Strategy Center”.

Ambassador COMÃNESCU was elected for a three-year term-in-office by the BSEC Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs as the Secretary General of the Permanent International Secretariat of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC PERMIS), assuming his duties on 1 July 2021.-

H.E. Ms. Željka Cvijanović

  • Željka Cvijanović was born on March 4, 1967 in Teslić, where she completed primary and secondary school.
  • She graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Banja Luka.
  • She completed her specialist studies in the field of diplomatic and consular law at the Faculty of Law at the University of Banja Luka by defending her final thesis on the topic „The International and Legal Position of the European Union“.
  • From February 2006, she served as an advisor to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Srpska for European integration and cooperation with international organisations, and after that she was elected the Head of the Cabinet of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Srpska.
  • She headed the Coordination and European Integration Unit in the Government of the Republic of Srpska and was an expert member of the Committee for European Integration and Regional Cooperation of the National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska.
  • She was elected to the position of the Minister for Economic Relations and Regional Cooperation in the Government of the Republic of Srpska in December 2010.
  • In March 2013, she was elected to the position of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Srpska Government, as the first woman to hold that position.
  • In December 2014, she was re-elected to the position of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Srpska Government.
  • In the General Elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina in October 2018, she was elected to the position of the President of the Republic of Srpska.
  • In the General Elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina in October 2022, she was elected to the position of the Serb member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
  • She is married and a mother of two children.

Mr. Anthony Papayannides

Has read Law in Athens University. Post-graduate studies in Law, Economics and International Relations and in Medieval History in Strasbourg and Cambridge.  DEA European Law, DIHEE European Economy. Practiced business law and EU law. Consultant on E.U. topics to the Athens Daily Newspaper Publishers’ Association.

Member, then national representative, of the negotiating team for the Integrated Mediterranean Programmes. Counsellor to the Alternate Minister for Foreign Affairs, Counsellor to the Minister for Culture, Chairman of the Committee of Cultural Affairs at the E.U. Council. Consultant to the Bank of Greece. Founding member and member of the Board of a number of European affairs institutes and reviews in Greece (EKEME, EKEM, EEK)

From 1972 onwards a journalist and then a columnist at the Greek political daily “TO VIMA” and at the economic and financial weekly  “ECONOMICOS TACHYDROMOS”, specialising in macro-economic policy European affairs and foreign relations. Has also worked at “ELEFTHEROTYPIA” and “IMERISSIA” newspapers, managing editor of “ELEFHEROS TYPOS”.

Writes a bi-weekly column at “NAFTEMPORIKI”. Presently managing director of ECONOMIA Publishing, (“ECONOMIKI EPITHEORISSI”, “BUSINESS FILE”; writes a daily blog at economia.gr). Participates to the talk show “Evening Report” at ACTION 24 Channel.