Appointment of Permanent Representative to the United Nations Offices in Geneva & Vienna and Ambassador to the Lao People's Democratic Republic, 27 June 2019

The Government has appointed Mr Umej Singh Bhatia as Singapore’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Offices in Geneva and Vienna, and Ms Leow Siu Lin as Singapore’s Ambassador to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.

Mr Bhatia joined the Singapore Foreign Service in 1996. He served as Singapore’s first resident Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates from 2013 to 2016. He was Consul-General in the Singapore Consulate-General in Dubai from 2011 to 2012.  In 2006, Mr Bhatia was appointed Chargé d’Affaires in the Singapore Embassy in Doha. Mr Bhatia was First Secretary in the Singapore Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York from 1999 to 2003, and an Alternate Representative for Singapore on the United Nations Security Council from 2001 to 2002.

Mr Bhatia has served in various capacities in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs covering Southeast Asia, Middle East, and the United Nations. He was Director-General of the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia Directorate from January 2017 to May 2019.

Mr Bhatia graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with Double First Class Honours from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, in 1995. In 2005, he obtained a Master of Arts in Regional Studies (Middle East) from Harvard University, United States of America. Mr Bhatia was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Bronze) in 2008.  He is married to Mdm Shireen Khushi and they have two children.

Ms Leow joined the Singapore Foreign Service in 1985. From 2013 to 2019, she was Consul-General at the Consulate-General of the Republic of Singapore in Ho Chi Minh City, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Ms Leow served as Deputy High Commissioner at the Singapore High Commission in New Delhi from 2001 to 2005.  She was Counsellor in the Singapore Embassy in Manila from 1996 to 1999 and First Secretary in the Singapore High Commission in Wellington from 1989 to 1992.

Ms Leow has served in various capacities in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs covering Western Europe, South Asia, Middle East, Africa, Latin America, North America, Northeast Asia and Technical Co-operation. She was Director-General of the Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Directorate from 2006 to 2013.  

Ms Leow graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration, Second Class Honours (Upper Division) from the National University of Singapore in 1985. She was awarded the Long Service Medal in 2010.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

27 JUNE 2019

UMEJ BHATIA

PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE TO THE UNITED NATIONS OFFICES

IN GENEVA AND VIENNA

Mr Umej Bhatia will be appointed as Singapore’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva and the United Nations Office in Vienna, resident in Geneva. Mr Bhatia will be appointed concurrently as Resident Representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency and Permanent Representative to the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty Organization. 
 
Born in 1970, Mr Bhatia graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with Double First Class Honours from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom in 1995 under a Singapore Broadcasting Corporation scholarship. He obtained a Master of Arts in Regional Studies (Middle East) from Harvard University, United States of America in 2005 under a Ministry of Foreign Affairs scholarship.
 
In 1995, Mr Bhatia worked for the then Television Corporation of Singapore where he produced and presented the current affairs programme “Talking Point”.
 
Mr Bhatia joined the Foreign Service in 1996 and has served in various capacities on issues covering Southeast Asia, Middle East and the United Nations in the Ministry's headquarters.  He served overseas as First Secretary in Singapore’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, from 1999 to 2003, and as an Alternate Representative for Singapore on the United Nations Security Council from 2001 to 2002. In 2006, he was appointed as the first Chargé d’Affaires a.i./Counsellor and subsequently Chargé d’Affaires a.i./Minister-Counsellor in the Singapore Embassy in Doha where he served until 2011. He was the Consul-General in the Singapore Consulate-General in Dubai from September 2011 to December 2012.  Mr Bhatia was Singapore’s first resident Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates from January 2013 to December 2016. He served as Director-General Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia from January 2017 to May 2019.
 
Mr Bhatia was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Bronze) by the Singapore Government in 2008. From 2009 to 2012, Mr Bhatia served on the board of Singapore’s Infocomms Development Authority (International).  In 2016, Mr Bhatia was conferred the Order of Independence (First Class) by the President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
 
Mr Bhatia is married to Mdm Shireen Khushi and they have a daughter and a son.

[Photo Credit: Ministry of Communications and Information]

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LEOW SIU LIN

SINGAPORE’S AMBASSADOR

TO THE LAO PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC

Ms Leow Siu Lin was Singapore’s Consul-General at the Consulate-General of the Republic of Singapore in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, a post she held from June 2013 to June 2019.  
 
 Ms Leow joined the Foreign Service in June 1985. She served as First Secretary in the Singapore High Commission in Wellington (1989 to 1992), Counsellor in the Singapore Embassy in Manila (1996 to 1999) and subsequently as Deputy High Commissioner and Counsellor in the Singapore High Commission in New Delhi (2001 to 2005). 

Ms Leow served in various capacities in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on issues covering Western Europe, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, North America, Northeast Asia and Technical Co-operation. She was Director-General of the Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Directorate from 2006 to 2013.   
 
Ms Leow graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration, Second Class Honours (Upper Division) from the National University of Singapore in 1985.  She was awarded the Long Service Medal in 2010.

[Photo Credit: Ministry of Communications and Information]
 

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