Colleen Bell concluded her service as U.S. Ambassador to Hungary on January 20, 2017.
Ambassador Colleen Bell was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as the United States’ Ambassador to Hungary and was confirmed by the United States Senate in December 2014. On January 20 she concluded her service; her successor is David Kostelancik.
David Kostelancik, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service of the United States, rank of Minister Counselor, is Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy Budapest, Hungary. Mr. Kostelancik has served as Chargé d’Affaires, ad interim of the Mission since Ambassador Bell concluded her service on January 20, 2017.
From August, 2014 until August, 2015 he served as the Senior State Department Advisor to the Congressional Helsinki Commission. From July, 2012 until August, 2014 he served as Director of the Office of Russian Affairs in the Department of State’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. In that capacity, he oversaw political, economic and bilateral issues with the Russian Federation. Prior to that assignment, he served as Director of the Office of Europe and Asia in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, coordinating law enforcement, criminal justice and counternarcotics related assistance provided by the U.S. Government throughout Europe, Central, South and East Asia. He served as Deputy and Acting Minister Counselor for Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow from 2008 until 2010. He also served in Moscow earlier in his career as the Special Assistant to then-Ambassador Thomas Pickering. Other overseas postings include the U.S. Mission to the OSCE as Deputy Political Counselor (Vienna, Austria), the U.S. Mission to NATO (Brussels, Belgium), the U.S. Embassy Tirana, Albania and the U.S. Embassy Ankara, Turkey. He has held additional assignments in Washington, including as Deputy Director of the Office of Central Europe in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs.
Mr. Kostelancik received Bachelors of Arts degrees from Northwestern University in Mathematics and Political Science, a Masters of Arts degree from The University of Michigan in Russian and East European Studies, and a Masters of Science degree from the National War College in National Security Policy.
He is married; he and his wife have three sons.
Source: hungary.usembassy.gov
