New Director for Near and Middle East, South Mediterranean at DG RELEX - EC

Tomás Duplá del Moral has been appointed as the new Director of Directorate (Near and Middle East, South Mediterranean) of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for External Relations (DG RELEX). He takes up his new post on 1 October 2007. He replaces Mr. Hugues Mingarelli.
 
Mr Duplá del Moral, 59, who was previously Director for Latin America in DG RELEX (since 2004), has spent 12 years of his European Commission career working on Middle East issues. In 1989 he was Desk Officer for Lebanon and the West Bank & Gaza Strip before becoming Head of the ‘Occupied Territories’ Sector in the Mashrak and Israel Unit in 1992.  After more than two years as the first Commission Representative to the Occupied Territories in Jerusalem and Head of the European Commission technical assistance offices in Jerusalem and Gaza, he was made Head of the Mashrak and Israel Unit (1996-2001) back in Brussels.
 
In 2001 Mr Duplá del Moral was appointed Head of the Latin America Horizontal Affairs Unit (Policy, Planning and Co-ordination), Directorate General External Relations, Latin America Directorate.
 
Prior to joining the European Commission, Tomás Duplá del Moral trained and worked as a barrister in his native Spain before undertaking postgraduate studies (a PhD in Sociology) in the United States.