NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Mark Sedwill, NATO’s new Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan.
KABUL, Afghanistan (January 26, 2010) — NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen announced his decision to appoint Ambassador Mark Sedwill as NATO's new Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan.
Sedwill, who is currently the British ambassador to Afghanistan, is due to take office after the London Conference on Jan. 28.
“Ambassador Sedwill is eminently qualified to take up this position” Rasmussen said. “He knows the country, the Afghan people and the Afghan Government. He knows the region: he has been the British Deputy High Commissioner in Pakistan, which is clearly a very valuable background for his new position.”
Sedwill will succeed Ambassador Fernando Gentilini, who served as NATO’s fourth Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan from May 2008 to January 2010.
“Ambassador Gentilini has done an excellent job,” Rasmussen said. “I would like to congratulate him for his dedication, his energy, and his determination to help the Afghan people build a better future.”
Sedwill takes his new post at a critical time, as 2010 will witness a new momentum in the international effort to help Afghanistan provide for its own security and stability. As the NATO-led military mission expands, the civilian effort is expanding as well, making the coordination of that civilian effort more important than ever.
“I look forward to playing my part in trying to help build a more coherent international effort, civilians alongside the military,” Sedwill said.