The administration of US President Donald Trump has appointed John Ginkel to the position of Chargé d’Affaires of the US Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, diplomatic sources told Klix.ba.
Sources for the portal also say that Ginkel has already arrived in Sarajevo, and that he will soon formally replace Daniel Koski as Chargé d’Affaires.
However, our sources say that Ginkel will have somewhat greater authority than Koski, and can also be called a “crisis” ambassador, or acting in this position.
He was given a one-year mandate. Ginkel arrives in Bosnia and Herzegovina from Ukraine, where he was also Chargé d’Affaires, after the resignation of the previous US ambassador to this country, Bridget Brink.
He left Ukraine in May of this year, and he is a career diplomat who is not a political appointment. Ginkel was the director of the Office of Afghan Affairs at the State Department in Washington, DC.
He also served in two previous posts in Afghanistan. From 2013 to 2015, Ginkel served as Deputy Director of the Office of Regional Affairs in the State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism.
Ginkel has held a variety of positions in Europe, including political advisor in Kosovo, deputy political advisor at the U.S. Mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and has served at U.S. embassies in Riga, Latvia, and Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Prior to joining the U.S. Foreign Service, Ginkel was a Peace Corps volunteer and Fulbright Scholar in Latvia, where he conducted research for his dissertation. Ginkel received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and his doctorate from Washington University in St. Louis, Klix.ba writes.
