U.S. Assistant Secretary of
State Jose Fernandez on Thursday appointed Kris Urs to serve as the next deputy
assistant secretary for transportation affairs, replacing John Byerly, who will
remain in the role during a transition period until the end of the month.
In his role as deputy
assistant secretary for transportation affairs, Byerly oversaw many Open Skies
agreements with other nations, serving as the chief U.S. negotiator for the
landmark EU-U.S. agreement, the second stage of which was finalized this year,
as well as a similar bilateral with Japan, which remains to be finalized. BTN this year named Byerly among its 25 Most Influential Executives Of The Business Travel Industry Of 2009 for those efforts.
Byerly announced his
retirement from the State Department earlier this year "after over 30 years of
government service and almost a decade as deputy assistant secretary for
transportation affairs."
Urs over the past year has
served as State Department director of aviation negotiations, following the
Charge d'Affaires position at the American embassy in Bolivia. Byerly said Urs
"will lead State's continuing engagement on the full spectrum of
international transportation issues with an exceptional ability to listen to
stakeholders, to develop policy and build consensus and to drive home results
that make a difference."