Appointment of Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand and Ambassador to the State of Israel, 31 October 2023

The Government has appointed Ms Catherine Wong Siow Ping as the next Singapore Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand, and Mr Ian Mak Jung-I as the next Singapore Ambassador to the State of Israel.

Ms Wong has been the Director-General of the Southeast Asia I Directorate, Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2021. Prior to this, she was Singapore’s Ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam from 2016 to 2021.

Ms Wong joined the Singapore Foreign Service in 1995 and has served in various capacities on issues related to the Americas, Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia. She was Counsellor (Political) at the Singapore Embassy in Washington from 2006 to 2008 and Consul (Political) at the Singapore Consulate-General in Hong Kong from 1997 to 2000. Ms Wong was the Director-General of the Consular Directorate from 2012 to 2014, and the Director-General of the Americas Directorate from 2014 to 2016.

Ms Wong graduated with a Bachelor of Social Science in Mass Communications (Honours) from the National University of Singapore in 1995, and a Master of Arts in Political Science from Columbia University, United States of America, in 2003.

Ms Wong was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 2022 and the Long Service Medal in 2020.

Mr Mak joined the Singapore Foreign Service in 2003 and has served in various capacities on issues related to Southeast Asia and Europe. He was First Secretary (Political) at the Singapore High Commission in Kuala Lumpur from 2007 to 2011, and Consul-General at the Singapore Consulate-General in Johor Bahru from 2013 to 2015. Mr Mak was the Director-General of the Southeast Asia I Directorate from 2016 to 2021.

Mr Mak’s most recent assignment was Assistant Chief Executive (International) at the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) from 2022 to 2023. He was concurrently the Director of the International Affairs Division at the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI). Prior to this, he was the Director for Economic Regulation at MCI from 2021 to 2022. 

Mr Mak graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (with Distinction) in Economics and a Master of Arts in International Policy Studies from Stanford University, United States of America in 2001, under the Singapore Government Scholarship (Foreign Service).

Mr Mak was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 2020.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

31 OCTOBER 2023

Ambassador to the State of Israel, Mr Ian Mak Jung-I
Photo Credit: Ministry of Communications and Information, Singapore

Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand, Ms Catherine Wong Siow Ping
Photo Credit: Ministry of Communications and Information, Singapore