Today, on November 1, a new Principal Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE SMM to Ukraine took office Mark Etherington started his work. It was reported by the mission press service.
In this post, he will replace the Swiss Alexander Hug — he leaves his post because he has reached the 10-year limit of work in the OSCE. Hug has served as the deputy head of the OSCE SMM since March 2014.
According to the OSCE website, Mark Etherington prior to working for the organization led the Stabilization Bureau Group, managed by the UK National Security Council and carried out field missions in various countries around the world, including South Sudan.
It is known that Etherington is a former paratrooper of the British army, who subsequently gained immense experience in resolving international conflicts.
According to media reports, a significant part of Etherington’s career is related to working in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2003, at the invitation of the British Foreign Office, he was appointed to the Coalition Provisional Authority of Iraq (2003−2004), a transitional government that assumed responsibility for power in the country after the invasion of the United States and the international coalition forces.
Etherington became governor of Wasit province, which was the responsibility of the Ukrainian peacekeeping contingent in Iraq. For his work in Iraq and his previous peace work, Etherington was awarded the Order of the British Empire.
In 2014, when the OSCE launched its special monitoring mission in Ukraine, Etherington was appointed as deputy head of the mission.
Since then, he has been actively involved in the work of the mission in the east of Ukraine. In 2014, Etherington coordinated the release of OSCE monitors detained by the militants of the so-called «DNR».