Barbados

Nicole Parris assumed the position of first secretary and alternative representative to the Organization of American States on July 1, replacing Ricardo Kellman, who departed the post of first secretary on June 30. Parris previously served as a Foreign Service officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade in Barbados.

Lt. Col. Ricardo Vickers assumed the position of defense attaché on April 1, replacing Cmdr. Errington Shurland, who departed the post on March 31.

Cyprus

George Chacalli has been appointed ambassador of Cyprus to the United States, having previously served in Washington, D.C., from 1997 to 2001 as counselor/congressional liaison and then as deputy chief of mission of the Cypriot Embassy. He most recently served as ambassador to Sweden, with accreditation to Norway and Latvia (2010-13) and before that, as ambassador to Hungary, with accreditation to Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina (2004-06). Ambassador Chacalli has many years of experience working with the European Union, serving as Cyprus’s ambassador and deputy permanent representative to the EU from 2006 through 2010. From 2001 to 2003, he also worked in the EU Affairs Division in the Cyprus Ministry of Foreign Affairs, serving first as secretary of the Cyprus Delegation to the Convention on the Future of Europe and later as Cyprus’s representative to the Intergovernmental Council of the EU. In addition, he headed the EU Internal Market Unit in the EU Affairs Division in 2006. He’s held various other postings in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nicosia, working in the Political Affairs Division in the Middle East Desk from 1996 to 1997 and as an attaché in the Cyprus Question Department from 1989 through 1991. From 1991 through 1996, he served as first secretary for political and Commonwealth affairs at the Cyprus High Commission in London. Educated in the United Kingdom and Belgium, Ambassador Chacalli earned a master’s of law degree from the University of Cambridge; a master’s in international relations from the University of Kent; a bachelor’s degree in politics and law from the University of Kent; and a Diplome d’Etudes in Economics from the Universite Catholique de Louvain. Fluent in English, French and his mother tongue Greek, as well as conversant in German and Spanish, Ambassador Chacalli has also worked as a freelance translator. In 2006, the president of Hungary awarded him the Commander’s Cross, Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (Civil Division).

Iraq

Lukman Faily has been appointed ambassador of Iraq to the United States, having previously served as Iraq’s ambassador to Japan from June 2010 to May 2013 and, prior to that, as an ambassador in the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Before joining the Iraqi public sector, Ambassador Faily lived in the United Kingdom for 20 years, working in the information technology (IT) sector for several transnational companies. During his last 10 years abroad, he held senior management positions in two American companies, Ceridian Centrefile and then Electronic Data Systems, which is now part of Hewlett-Packard. In addition, he held consultancy and team-leader positions in the IT sector. While living and working in the United Kingdom, Ambassador Faily was also an active community leader within the large Iraqi exile community and served as a trustee for several nongovernmental Iraqi organizations. He played an active role in opposing Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship and advocated for democracy and rule of law in Iraq. Ambassador Faily holds a bachelor’s of science degree in mathematics and computer science from Britain’s Manchester Metropolitan University, as well as a master’s in business administration in technology management and a postgraduate degree in computing for commerce and industry. Fluent in English, Arabic and Kurdish, Ambassador Faily was born in Baghdad in 1966. He is married to Lameis Faily and is the father of four boys.