German Ambassador Accredited in Iraq

For the first time in 13 years, Germany has an ambassador to Iraq. Previously charge d'affaires in Baghdad, Bernd Erbel was accredited by Iraqi President Ghazi Al-Yawar on Tuesday, a German Foreign Ministry spokesman said. Erbel, 56, has been Germany's representative in Iraq since July. The German embassy in Baghdad is expected to open soon. The last German ambassador to Iraq left at the beginning of the 1991 Gulf War. Since 1999, Germany has had a charge d'affaires there, who it recalled when the Iraq war began.