MFA Press Statement - Presentation of Credentials

The following Heads of Mission presented their Credentials to President S R Nathan in separate ceremonies at the Istana today:

(a) The High Commissioner of Malaysia, Dato' N. Parameswaran, who has succeeded Dato' Hamidon Ali;

(b) The Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, Mr Ryu Kwang-sok, who has succeeded Mr Hahm Myung-Chul;

(c) The High Commissioner of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr Andreas G. Skarparis, who has succeeded Mrs Rea Yirodamlis; and

(d) The High Commissioner of the Republic of Botswana, Mr Kgosi Seepapitso IV, who has succeeded Mr Alfred Uyapo Majaye Dube.

The curricula vitae of Dato' N. Parameswaran, Mr Ryu Kwang-sok, Mr Andreas G. Skarparis and Mr Kgosi Seepapitso IV are attached.

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
2 JULY 2003

DATO' N. PARAMESWARAN
HIGH COMMISSIONER
MALAYSIA

BORN: 20 October 1948, Perak

AGE: 54

MARITAL STATUS: Widower

CHILDREN:One child

EDUCATION: Clifford School, Kuala Kangsar
Anglo-Chinese School, Ipoh
University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur
Degree in BA History (International Relations)

CAREER:
15 Oct 1969
Appointed to the Administrative and Diplomatic Service of Malaysia and served as Assistant Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

17 May 1971
Second Secretary, Embassy of Malaysia in Jakarta, Indonesia

29 Jan 1973
Second Secretary, Permanent Mission of Malaysia to the United Nations, New York, USA

16 Sep 1975
Principal Assistant Secretary (Political), Ministry of Foreign Affairs

15 Dec 1978
Charge d' Affaires, Embassy of Malaysia in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

22 Jun 1981
Under Secretary (Economic), Ministry of Foreign Affairs

30 Jun 1986
Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Malaysia to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Geneva, Switzerland

02 Jun 1990
Ambassador, Embassy of Malaysia in Hanoi, Vietnam

16 Aug 1993
Under-Secretary (Multilateral Political Affairs/ MPA)

06 Jul 1996
Deputy Secretary-General II (International Organisations and Multilateral Economics/ IOME)

20 Nov 1998-17 Jan 2000
Director-General of ASEAN-Malaysia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

18 Jan 2000-13 Jan 2002
Seconded to the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) as Chief of Staff

16 Jan 2002
Deputy Secretary-General (Special Functions), Ministry of Foreign Affairs

05 Aug 2002
Deputy Secretary-General (Special Functions) in-charge-of Strategic Planning, Policy Planning and External Information

May 2003
High Commissioner-designate to Singapore

2 Jul 2003
High Commissioner to Singapore

. . . . .

RYU KWANG-SOK
AMBASSADOR
REPUBLIC OF KOREA

BORN: 8 January 1951

AGE: 52

MARITAL STATUS: Married with one son and one daughter

EDUCATION: Graduated from the Department of International Relations, Seoul National University, South Korea, Feb 1973

MA in Foreign Service, Graduate School of Georgetown University, Washington D.C, USA, May 1982

Studied at Keio University, Tokyo, Japan, Mar 1990

CAREER:
Apr 1973
Passed High Diplomatic Service Examination

Jul 1973
Joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA)

Feb 1976
Third Secretary, Korean Embassy in the United States of America

Aug 1982
Assistant Secretary to the President, Office of the President

Mar 1984
Counsellor, Korean Embassy in the Republic of India

Jan 1987
Director, Security Division, Office of Policy Planning, MOFA

Jan 1992
Counsellor, Embassy in Japan

Jan 1995
Spokesman, MOFA

Jul 1995
Senior Coordinator for Regional Political Affairs, Office of Policy Planning, MOFA

Jan 1997
Director-General, Asian Pacific Affairs Bureau, MOFA

Apr 1998
Consul-General, Korean Consulate General in Atlanta, USA

Jul 2000
Minister, Korean Embassy in Japan

May 2003
Ambassador-designate to Singapore

2 Jul 2003
Ambassador to Singapore

. . . . .

ANDREAS G. SKARPARIS
HIGH COMMISSIONER
REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS

BORN: 1946, Nicosia, Cyprus

AGE: 57

EDUCATION: Graduate of the Law School of Athens University

MARITAL STATUS: Married Has three children

CAREER:

1972-75
Lawyer before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Started in Political Division dealing with legal affairs, international human rights and the Council of Europe

1979-82
Head of Department of Bilateral Relations

1982-85
Counsellor and in early 1984 as Acting High Commissioner (and Acting Permanent Representative to UNEP and HABITAT), Cyprus High Commission in Kenya

1985-89
International, bilateral relations and regional problem, in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

1989-92
Political Counsellor, Cyprus Embassy in Moscow

1992-96
Director of Political Affairs, for Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, the Middle East and the Balkans and participated in the Commonwealth summit meetings of Limassol and Auckland, as well as in other missions abroad, including Ministerial Visit, monitoring of elections in Algeria by the United Nations and the Palestine by the EU

1996-2000
Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

1998
Concurrent accreditation from 1998 to the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria

Sep 2000
Ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark. Continued accreditation to Algeria

May 2002
High Commissioner to India

Jan 2003
High Commissioner-designate to Singapore

2 Jul 2003
High Commissioner to Singapore, resident in New Delhi

LANGUAGES: Greek and English

. . . . .

KGOSI SEEPAPITSO IV
HIGH COMMISSIONER
THE REPUBLIC OF BOTSWANA

BORN: 17 October 1933, Thabanchu, South Africa

AGE: 69

MARITAL STATUS: Married with four children

EDUCATION:
Tigerkloof Institution (for primary education and matriculation), South Africa, 1946-1955

Moeng College (for secondary education), Botswana, 1956-1957

Diploma in Public Administration, South Devon Technical College, UK, 1958-1960

CAREER:

1960-1961
District Development Officer, Department of unified local Government Services - Serowe (District Commissioner's Office)

1963-1966
District Officer - Kanye (Tribal Administration)

1967-1969
Deputy Town Clerk, Gaborone Town Council

1970-1972
Deputy Chairman, House of Chiefs

1970-1975
Land Board Chairman - Kanye

1970-2000
Paramount Chief (Bangwaketse Tribe)

1973-1996
Chairman, National Health Association
Chairman, Kanye Brigades

1998-1999
Chairman, House of Chiefs

May 2000 - Aug 2002
Ambassador to the USA

May 2000 - Aug 2002
Concurrently accredited to Canada and Mexico

Sep 2002 to date
Ambassador to China

Sep 2002
High Commissioner-Designate to Singapore

Feb 2003 to date
Concurrently accredited to Malaysia

2 Jul 2003
High Commissioner to Singapore, resident in Beijing

MEMBERSHIP

Member, Citizenship Committee, 1982-1997

Member, Vision 2016 Task Force, 1995

Chairman, Sports Commission, 1998

LANGUAGE SPOKEN: Setswana and English

HOBBIES: Tennis and Reading

. . . . .

July 2003