Government Selects North Macedonia’s New Ambassadors, Including Albanians

A list of diplomats expected to represent North Macedonia at several missions abroad has been drawn up. The government’s nominees include career diplomats and professionals from other fields, while some candidates will remain in the same posts for a second term, the official zyrtare.net portal reports.

During a government session, Driton Kuçi’s nomination as ambassador to Oslo, Norway, was approved, as was Elma Altorok’s nomination as ambassador to Cairo, Egypt.

Kuçi is set to serve a second term, as he is already ambassador in Oslo. Meanwhile, Altorok is currently serving at the embassy in Cairo.

Filip Pashu has been selected for the post of North Macedonia’s ambassador to Athens, according to unofficial information provided to the newspaper “Sloboden Peçat” by government sources. He was appointed acting director of the Public Enterprise “City Parking” on December 31, 2021, and had previously served as the company’s deputy director and chairman of its Management Board.

Diplomatic representation in Budapest will be entrusted to Tatjana Loparski. She is a former journalist and is currently the owner and executive director of “Element PR,” one of the leading public relations agencies in North Macedonia. Loparski is regarded as an expert in the field.

The government has selected lawyer Jasmin Kalaç as its candidate for ambassador to Sarajevo. He is not among the best-known lawyers involved in high-profile cases, with the exception of his involvement in the “Puls” case, which is linked to the tragedy in Koçan. In the proceedings, Kalaç is defending the former director of the Directorate for Protection and Rescue, Xhevat Selami.

Four other ambassadors were selected earlier and are now awaiting the presentation of their theses before Parliament. Career diplomat Krum Efremov, who previously served as ambassador to Ukraine, has been appointed to Bulgaria.

Gabriel Atanasov will represent the country in Romania, where he has also served previously.

Muharem Jusufi, an employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has been selected as ambassador to Stockholm, Sweden, while representation in Pristina will be entrusted to Katerina Todorovska.