NEWS

Warm, charming and low-key

Someone who knows the new US ambassador to Athens well and has worked with him, described him as «warm, very human, charming, low-key and polite,» adding that Daniel Speckhard «is looking forward to his move to Greece, and wants to learn about the country, its language and customs.» Speckhard, who studied at the University of Wisconsin, and has worked closely with crisis management and reconstruction, is familiar with the media. He demonstrated that during his term as US special adviser in Baghdad, and as head of the office of reconstruction and management in Iraq, where he gave many press conferences. That choice was imposed on him to some extent by the «need to counter» negative coverage by the major American press and media outlets which had significant political repercussions in Washington. It is not clear whether he will adopt the same tactic during his term in Greece, where requirements are different. At any rate, after the difficult posting in Baghdad, he would like a quieter term at a posting that is important but is not on the front line.

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