US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe Wess Mitchell Resigns - State Dep't

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Wess Mitchell is stepping down from his post, US Department of State deputy spokesman Robert Palladino announced in a statement on Tuesday.

"Assistant Secretary Mitchell is stepping down as leader of the [State Department] Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. His departure is effective February 15, 2019," Palladino said via Twitter. "Elisabeth Millard, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, will serve as acting Assistant Secretary of State."

Assistant Secretary A. Wess Mitchell has been a valued and effective leader in @StateDept and good friend to our allies and partners in #Europe. We thank him for his service and wish him and his family well.

— Robert Palladino (@StateDeputySPOX) 22 января 2019 г.

​Mitchell took an oath of office as Assistant Secretary of State in October 2017. He was responsible for diplomatic relations with 50 countries in Europe and Eurasia as well as with NATO, the European Union and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. Mitchell succeeded Victoria Nuland who served in the administration of former President Barack Obama.

Mitchel has served on advisory boards for several US and European institutes, including the Zbigniew Brzezinski Institute for Geostrategy, the Atlantic Initiative Berlin and the Prague Center for Transatlantic Relations. He is a graduate of Texas Tech University, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and recently earned a doctoral degree in political science from the Freie Universitaet in Berlin.