High Representative Christian Schwarz-Schilling thanked Ambassador Lawrence Butler for his work in Bosnia and Herzegovina and wished him well in his next assignment. The High Representative learned today that his Principal Deputy has been asked to return to Washington for important new duties.
The High Representative has asked Raffi Gregorian, currently Brčko Supervisor and Deputy High Representative, to assume Ambassador Butler’s duties on an interim basis.
“I am very grateful to Ambassador Butler for all his efforts,” Mr Schwarz-Schilling said. “It has been a pleasure working with him over the past year and I wish him and his wife Linda continuing good fortune in what I understand will be an extremely challenging assignment.”
Ambassador Butler has been in Bosnia and Herzegovina since March 2005 serving as Principal Deputy High Representative to both Christian Schwarz-Schilling and Paddy Ashdown. He came to Sarajevo from Skopje, where he had been the US Ambassador.
The High Representative asked Dr Gregorian to serve as his acting Principal Deputy High Representative in addition to being Brčko Supervisor. Dr. Gregorian will be dividing his time between Brčko and Sarajevo.
Dr Gregorian became the fifth Brčko Supervisor on September 16 last year after many years working on issues relating to the former Yugoslavia . Prior to becoming Brčko Supervisor, he was the senior civilian in NATO Headquarters Sarajevo responsible for defence reform and a political adviser to the NATO Commander.