Equal parts diplomat and advocate, the Head of Mission is the arm of Brussels in the field, is the eyes and ears of everything that is happening in Georgia and the spokesman for the interests of the EU Monitoring Mission (EUMM).
The Head of Mission is entrusted by the Council of the European Union with the fulfillment of EUMM’s mandate. He commands all operations in the field, is responsible for political contacts with all parties and responds vis-a-vis EU Member States for the mission. The reports of EUMM to European capitals, which the Head of Mission signs, are an important vehicle to bring to the attention of European politicians all events capable of threatening security in the region.
The day-to-day work of the Head of Mission includes consultations with government officials, local leaders and others; and extensive travel intending to keep in touch with the monitors in the field as well as with political decision-makers in Brussels.
One of the most vital roles played by the Head of Mission is the use of his "good offices" in order to initiate confidence-building steps between the parties to the August conflict. Drawing upon his independence, impartiality and integrity, he can take measures publicly and in private, to prevent breaches of security in the region and disputes from arising, escalating or spreading.
Mr Andrzej Tyszkiewicz from Poland is the Head of the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia. He was appointed by High Representative Catherine Ashton on 5 July 2011. He has succeeded Ambassador Haber, who left Georgia at the end of April 2011 to become the EU Civilian Operations Commander and Head of the EU Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability (CPCC) in Brussels.
Mr Andrzej Tyszkiewicz is a Lieutenant General (retired), a graduate from the Polish Army Academy in Wroclaw, Poland; the Frunze Army Command and Staff College in Moscow and the Voroshilov Armed Forces General Staff College in Moscow. He previously served as the Commanding General of the Multinational Division Central-South in Iraq, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Land Forces, as well as Defence, Military and Naval Attaché in Ankara, Turkey. Most recently, he was Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
