Press Releases 2003
Polish Diplomat Honored for Representing U.S. Interests
3 March 2003 |
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Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage presented the
Secretary's Award for Distinguished Service to the Director of the U.S.
Interests Section in Baghdad, Polish diplomat Krzysztof Biernacki on
February 28, 2003. The award recognizes Mr. Biernacki's outstanding
performance in Baghdad as Chief of the U.S. Interests Section from
January 2001 until the Section temporarily suspended operations in
January 2003.
Mr. Biernacki’s performance was exemplary
throughout a difficult and dangerous period, marked by the 9/11 attacks
in New York and Washington and sustained confrontations and stand-offs
with the Iraqi Government. According to State Department Spokesman
Richard Boucher, Mr. Biernacki and his small staff diligently and
faithfully represented U.S. interests and watched over American
citizens and property. For this, Boucher said, the U.S. is deeply
grateful and is honored to present him with the Secretary's Award for
Distinguished Service.
Mr. Biernacki’s outstanding performance
in Baghdad continues more than a decade of service by Polish diplomats
in Iraq on behalf of the United States. This award symbolizes the deep
gratitude of the United States for the outstanding contribution of Mr.
Biernacki and his staff under difficult circumstances.
Mr.
Biernacki was born in Warsaw in 1956, is married, and has two young
children. An economist by training, he also served for five years in
Poland’s Mission to the European Union.
