NATO appoints Dutch diplomat in Afghanistan

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has appointed Ambassador Maurits R. Jochems as the next NATO Senior Civilian Representative (SCR) in Afghanistan. Jochems will replace the British Diplomat Simon Gass, who has served as the Senior Civilian Representative since April 2011. SCR will represent NATO’s political leadership in Kabul. Maurits Jochems, who is currently the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Estonia, has extensive experience at NATO and previously served as NATO’s interim SCR in Afghanistan in 2008. He is expected to take up his new post in October. “Ambassador Jochems brings with him an in-depth knowledge of Afghanistan and the wider region which will be of great benefit to our mission there,” said NATO’s Secretary General. “His appointment comes at a crucial time for ISAF as we continue to hand over more areas of security control to the Afghan National Security Forces.”