Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today announced the following diplomatic appointment:

Ben Rowswell becomes Ambassador to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

A biographical note on the appointee follows.

Ben Rowswell (BSc [Foreign Service], Georgetown University, 1993; MPhil [International Relations], Oxford University, 2000) joined External Affairs and International Trade Canada in 1993. In Ottawa, Mr. Rowswell has served as a policy officer for conflict management and peacekeeping and helped develop the Democracy Unit within the department. He has also worked twice in the Privy Council Office: as a policy adviser for the Smart Borders Task Force and as a senior analyst on international issues for the Priorities and Planning Committee. Abroad, Mr. Rowswell has served in New York and Cairo, as chargé d’affaires in Baghdad, as deputy head of mission in Kabul and as Representative of Canada in Kandahar. Most recently, Mr. Rowswell was director of the Gulf States and Regional Trade Division. He is married to Kate Rowswell and they have two children, Ava and Luke. He replaces Paul Gibbard.

src:news.gc.ca