Presentation of Credentials, 25 April 2019

The following foreign Heads of Mission presented their credentials to President  Halimah Yacob in separate ceremonies at the Istana today:

(a) The High Commissioner of Jamaica

His Excellency Antonia Hugh

(b) The High Commissioner of the Republic of Uganda

Her Excellency Dinah Grace Akello

(c) The Ambassador of the Slovak Republic

His Excellency Jaroslav Chlebo

Their bio summaries are attached.    

.    .    .    .     .
 

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE 

25 April 2019

Antonia Hugh

AMBASSADOR TO SINGAPORE

JAMAICA

Mr. Antonia Hugh studied at the University of the West Indies, Mona, where he obtained his Master of Business Administration in Finance.

Mr. Hugh has held leadership positions in various companies, having served as Director to Rayton Group Limited (Jamaica), Director at Base Sarl in Madagascar and Non-Executive Director, AMG Packaging and Paper Ltd. (Jamaica). He has vast experience in the construction business, trading, property development, oil consultancy, as well as energy and petroleum in Jamaica and in the Caribbean. 

Mr. Hugh is a member of several philanthropic associations including the Jamaica Chinese Benevolent Association, Chinese Manufacturer’s Associations of Hong Kong, the Rotary Club International and the Shaanxi Overseas Friendship Association.

Mr. Hugh has been appointed Ambassador of Jamaica to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) since 2017, and holds concurrent accreditations to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, with residence in Beijing. 

Mr. Hugh enjoys Indian cuisine and wine. He has a keen interest in golf, snooker, badminton, painting and other types of art work. 

[Photo Credit: Ministry of Communications and Information]

.    .    .    .     .

Dinah Grace Akello

AMBASSADOR TO SINGAPORE

UGANDA

Dinah Grace Akello is currently Uganda’s High Commissioner to India, with concurrent accreditation to Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Prior to this, Akello served as Uganda’s Ambassador to the Republic of Italy, with concurrent accreditation to Greece, Malta, Cyprus, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia. She was also Uganda’s Permanent Representative to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP), and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). 

She holds a Master of Arts Degree in Human Development and Food Security, Roma Tre University, Italy, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Social Work and Social Administration, Makerere University, Uganda.
 
During her 45 years in the Ugandan government, High Commissioner-designate Akello has served as Minister of State for Microfinance, Principal Private Secretary to the President, Member of Parliament, and Commissioner of the Uganda Human Rights Commission. She has also served in global platforms such as the Commonwealth Secretariat (United Kingdom), and the East African Community (Kenya and Tanzania). 

High Commissioner-designate Grace Akello is married, with four grown-up sons.

[Photo Credit: Ministry of Communications and Information]

.    .    .    .     .

Jaroslav Chlebo

AMBASSADOR TO SINGAPORE

SLOVAK REPUBLIC

Ambassador Jaroslav Chlebo, a career diplomat, is concurrently accredited to Singapore from Jakarta, where he serves as the Slovak Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia and ASEAN.  Before this, he was the Ambassador-at-Large for Migration Issues at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MFEA) of the Slovak Republic.  Mr Chlebo has also served as the Slovak Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands (2011-2015) and the Hellenic Republic (2002-2007).  At the MFEA, he has occupied several positions, including as State Secretary, Director of International Economic Organisations, and Director of Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Assistance.    
 
Mr Chlebo graduated from the Law Faculty of Pavol Jozef Safarik University in Kosice, Slovak Republic. He had briefly practised law and worked in the private sector in Bratislava in the 1990s.   

During Mr Chlebo‘s tenure as Ambassador to the Hellenic Republic, he was awarded the Great Phoenix Cross.

Mr Chlebo is married to Mrs Jana Chlebova-Beckova.  They have three children.

[Photo Credit: Ministry of Communications and Information]

.    .    .    .     .