Andrei Dapkiunas ( be, Андрэй Дапкюнас, born 11 April 1963,

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

) is a Belarusian diplomat who is currently Ambassador-designate of Belarus to

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

, Permanent Representative of Belarus to the international organisations in Vienna and to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). He holds the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary since 2011.

Background and education

Dapkiunas was born in

in a family related to Yanka Kupala, the foremost Belarusian poet and a symbolic figure in the Belarusian national revival of the early 20th century. He holds a PhD degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

from the

Belarusian State University Belarusian State University (BSU) ( be, links=no, Белару́скі дзяржа́ўны ўніверсітэ́т, ; russian: links=no, Белору́сский госуда́рственный университе́т) is a university in Mins ...

(1991) and a graduate degree in languages (English and French) from the Minsk State Institute for Foreign Languages (1985). Alumnus of the London School of Economics and Political Science (Research Fee student, 1989–1990).Official biography
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Career

Early diplomatic career

Dapkiunas joined the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus ( be, Міністэрства замежных спраў Рэспублікі Беларусь, BGN/PCGN: ''Ministerstva zamyezhnykh spraw Respubliki Byelarus’''; russian: Мини� ...

in February 1992 and is currently among the longest-serving members of the Belarusian diplomatic service. As a junior diplomat, in 1992–1994 he had his first foreign assignment at the Permanent Mission of Belarus to the United Nations. After returning to Minsk in 1994, for more than nine years he headed the Ministry's department responsible for bilateral relations of Belarus with the US and Canada and later – with all countries of the Americas.

Ambassadorship in New York

From 2004 to 2017 he was the

Permanent Representative of Belarus to the United Nations This is a list of the Permanent Representatives of Belarus to the United Nations. Permanent Representative is the head of the permanent mission of Belarus to the United Nations. The current officeholder is Valentyn Rybakov, since August 7, 2017. ...

and is the longest-serving Belarusian ambassador to the United Nations. In 2011 he was briefly withdrawn from his position as ambassador to the UN following allegations of a link to one of opposition candidates in the

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

. While at the UN in New York, Dapkiunas served as President of the Executive Board of the UN Children's Fund,

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

(2006) and Vice-President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, ECOSOC (2008). Member of the Executive Board of the International Association of Permanent Representatives to the United Nations.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs

From 2017 to 2020 Dapkiunas served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus. His responsibilities included multilateral diplomacy, humanitarian cooperation and relations of Belarus with countries of Africa and Asia.

Ambassadorship in Vienna

In July 2020 Dapkiunas was appointed as Ambassador of Belarus to

and

, Permanent Representative of Belarus to the international organisations in Vienna and to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

References

External links

Official biography

* ttp://www.unicef.org/about/execboard/index_34492.html Annual 2006 session of the Executive Board of UNICEF {{DEFAULTSORT:Dapkiunas, Andrei 1963 births Living people Alumni of the London School of Economics Permanent Representatives of Belarus to the United Nations Chairmen and Presidents of UNICEF Diplomats from Minsk Belarusian officials of the United Nations