US envoy to the North stepping down

The US envoy to the North is to step down at the end of the month, it was revealed tonight.

Mitchell Reiss is to stand aside after three years as special envoy to the province.

He is being replaced by senior State Department official Paula Dobriamsky, US sources said tonight.

Dr Reiss led the American role in the political peace process and supported efforts to achieve IRA arms decommissioning as well as championing the establishment of a power-sharing government in Northern Ireland.

He left the State Department two years ago for academia but continued in his Northern Ireland role.

Ms Dobriamsky is the serving Undersecretary of State for Domestic and Global Affairs at the State Department.

She was nominated for the Administration in March 2001 and is responsible for a broad range of foreign policy issues including democracy, human rights and environmental issues.

Prior to her government role Ms Dobriamsky was Senior Vice President on the influential Council on Foreign Relations.

She has lectured and published articles on foreign affairs topics ranging from US human rights policy to democracy promotion strategies. Her government appointments include Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, Deputy Head of the US delegation to the 1990 Copenhagen conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe.

She has also been Director of European and Soviet Affairs at the National Security Council at the White House.