The Diplomat in Spain

Rafael Conde de Saro, Carlos Pérez-Desoy and Rafael Matos González de Careaga.

The Diplomat. 06/04/2016

The Foreign Minister, José Manuel García-Margallo, announced the nine positions of free appointment included in the provision of positions abroad for 2016, a process that in the diplomatic jargon is called “bombo”, according to information provided to The Diplomat by reliable sources.

These nine positions, considered to be of special sensitivity for different reasons, were the general consulship in New York, Havana and Jerusalem; the second headships of mission in Germany, Venezuela, Iraq, Afghanistan and Equatorial Guinea; as well as the position of assistant permanent representative before the NATO. All of them were marked with an asterisk in the bombo, which meant that the minister had the final say in those appointments without having to consult the Board of the Diplomatic Service.

Once the deadline to enter the bombo, 20 March, had passed, the undersecretary of the Ministry, Cristóbal González-Aller, informed the Board of the Diplomatic Service about the candidates chosen for the positions marked with asterisks, with the objective of removing them from the subsequent selection, a process that will end on 20 April -probably with the current interim Government- and in which each candidacy will be assessed by a jury of diplomats based on personal merits and hierarchy.

[hr style=”single”]

The minister assigns the nine most sensitive positions of this year’s “bombo”

[hr style=”single”]

Those chosen for the general consulships with asterisk are the following: Rafael Conde de Saro (current number two of Marca España that will work as consul to New York), Carlos Pérez-Desoy (deputy general director of Chancery that will work as consul to Havana, where he had already been assigned years ago) and Rafael Matos (new consul to Jerusalem, a position considered as an unofficial Embassy before Palestine). The second headships have been distributed as it follows: Daniel Losada Millar (Baghdad), Juan Antonio Martín Burgos (Berlin), José Hornero (Caracas), Miguel Heine (Kabul), Marco Antonio Peñín (Malabo) and María Elena Gómez Castro (number two in the Spanish representation before the NATO).

PSOE made a statement at the beginning of March asking Margallo not to distribute these nine asterisks (some of them in “ultrasensitive” countries for Spain, according to Carme Chacón) for fear of him choosing people related to PP in positions that do not require the approval of the Cabinet or the publication in the Official State Gazette.

Finally, Margallo did not favour any senior official in Madrid or those ambassadors closer to PP who hoped to get an important position in this year’s bombo. In this sense, González-Aller explained that two criteria had prevailed in the distribution of positions marked with an asterisk. The first one was excluding those candidates who are approaching their retirement, because the regulations of the Diplomatic Service stipulate a minimum stay abroad.

The second one was not attending the petitions of several outgoing ambassadors who had requested a position in this year’s bombo facing the political uncertainty in Spain. Precisely for the interim status and for not having the possibility of replacing them in this period, Margallo has decided to maintain the ambassadors where they are assigned until a new Government is formed. This measure also includes, according to the aforementioned sources, the senior officials of the Foreign Ministry, since some of the directors general wished to pack their things now.