The Diplomat in Spain

Josep Borrell and Alfonso Dastis.

Luis Ayllón. 16/07/2018

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alfonso Dastis, will be appointed Ambassador of Spain to Italy, once the authorities of that country grant their agrément, said sources to The Diplomat.

The Government of Pedro Sanchez has already decided the embassies to which will be posted other diplomats who occupied high level positions in Foreign Affairs and in Moncloa with Mariano Rajoy’s Executive.

Sánchez has chosen to act with an institutional sense, recovering the tradition of the Foreign Ministry by which diplomats who leave leading positions are appointed ambassadors in major capitals, something that had not always been fulfilled in recent decades.

Thus, Dastis will be the new Ambassador to Rome, replacing Jesús Gracia, who has only been in office for a year and a half, and who was Secretary of State for International Cooperation and for Ibero-America with José Manuel García-Margallo.

The sources consulted by The Diplomat also indicate that former Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Ildefonso Castro will serve as ambassador to Ireland, from where the departure of José María Rodríguez Coso was scheduled.

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Ildefonso Castro will be Ambassador to Ireland; García Casas, to Brazil; and Jorge Toledo, to Japan

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Fernando García Casas, who ceased as Secretary of State for International Cooperation and for Ibero-America and the Caribbean, will be Ambassador to Brazil, replacing Fernando Villalonga, who has been in office for two years and held prominent positions during the governments of José María Aznar.

Sanchez has also accepted the request of former Secretary of State for European Affairs, Jorge Toledo, who will be appointed Ambassador to Japan, replacing Gonzalo de Benito, who in a few months will reach four years in office.

Meanwhile, Beatriz Larrotcha, who last Friday was replaced as Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by Ángeles Moreno, will be the new Ambassador to Belgium, replacing Cecilia Yuste.

As for Bernardo Sicart, who was the director of the International Department of the Presidency of the Government, he will take charge of the Embassy of Spain in Luxembourg, replacing Carlos Lojendio who has served there the last four years.

For the time being, the senior officials relieved by Borrell have been the three Secretaries of State, the Undersecretary, Beatriz Larrotcha; the General Secretary of the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development (AECID), Luis Tejada; and the Director General of Sustainable Development Policies, Cristina Pérez. These last two could also be appointed to take charge of an Embassy.