High Commissioner on National Minorities

The High Commissioner is supported by political, legal, project and administrative staff. The staff make arrangements for his visits and travel with him; provide policy and legal advice on particular country and thematic contexts; draft correspondence, speeches and articles; write background notes and recommend action; contribute to conferences and seminars; manage the HCNM's tension-reducing projects and keep in close touch with useful contacts.

Below is a list of the staff of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities. For short bios of the staff please see the document on the right hand side of this page.

Ambassador Knut Vollebaek, High Commissioner

Ambassador Brendan Moran, Director

Odd Magne Ruud, Chef de Cabinet, Personal Adviser

Sabine Machl, Senior Adviser

Robert Schupp, Senior Political Adviser

Mihai Gribincea, Senior Adviser

Klemens Buescher, Senior Adviser

Krzysztof Drzewicki, Senior Legal Adviser

Francesco Palermo, Senior Legal Adviser

Nina Suomalainen, Senior Adviser

Simon Short, Senior Administrative Officer

Natalie Sabanadze, Political Adviser

Darko Karlica, Information Technology Specialist

Dmitri Alechkevitch, Political Adviser

Vincent De Graaf, Legal Adviser

Pavlo Byalyk, Project Officer

Annelies Verstichel, Legal Officer

Bob Deen, Project Officer

Ivana Radenkovic, Junior Professional Officer

Inger-Helene Joelle, Secretary to the High Commissioner

Yvonne Kwakkestijn, Senior Administrative Assistant

Diana Broese van Groenou, Project Assistant

Karen Foley-Blauw, Administrative Secretary

Linda Nash, Editorial Assistant

Eveline Giotta, Procurement Assistant

Violaine Pellerin, Information Assistant

Radka Angelova, Secretary

Valentyna Sivaieva, Administrative Secretary

Miranda Ouweneel, Project Assistant