MFA Press Statement: Presentation of Credentials Ceremony, 25 October 2012
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25 October 2012
The High Commissioner of Canada Her Excellency Heather Grant presented her credentials to President Tony Tan at the Istana today. [Photo: MICA] The Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt Her Excell...
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The High Commissioner of Canada Her Excellency Heather Grant presented her credentials to President Tony Tan at the Istana today. [Photo: MICA]

The Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt Her Excellency Fatma F Galal presented her credentials to President Tony Tan at the Istana today. [Photo: MICA]

The High Commissioner of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh His Excellency Mahbub Uz Zaman presented his credentials to President Tony Tan at the Istana today. [Photo: MICA]

The Ambassador of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay His Excellency Carlos Irigaray Santana presented his credentials to President Tony Tan at the Istana today. [Photo: MICA]
The following foreign Heads of Mission presented their credentials to President Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam in separate ceremonies at the Istana today:
(a) The High Commissioner of Canada Her Excellency Heather Grant
(b) The Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt Her Excellency Fatma F Galal
(c) The High Commissioner of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh His Excellency Mahbub Uz Zaman
(d) The Ambassador of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay His Excellency Carlos Irigaray Santana
The curricula vitae of Her Excellency Heather Grant, Her Excellency Fatma F Galal, His Excellency Mahbub Uz Zaman and His Excellency Carlos Irigaray Santana are attached.
. . . . .
MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
25 OCTOBER 2012
HE HEATHER GRANT
HIGH COMMISSIONER TO SINGAPORE
CANADA
BORN: 11 December 1965, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
AGE: 46
MARITAL STATUS: Single
EDUCATION: BA (Honours) in History and German, Queen’s University, 1989
LL.B, Dalhousie University School of Law, 1992
LL.M, Osgoode Hall Law School, 1998
CAREER: 1994 – 1998 Legal Counsel, Canadian International Trade Tribunal
1998 – 1999 Coordinator of Canadian Policy, Free Trade Area of the Americas, Trade Policy Planning Division, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT)
1999 – 2002 Deputy Director, Trade Policy Planning Division, DFAIT
2002 – 2004 Director, Regional Trade Policy Division, DFAIT
2004 – 2005
Director, Tariffs and Market Access Division DFAIT
CAREER:
(cont’d) 2005 – 2009 Minister and Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Canada to the World Trade Organisation, Geneva
2009 – 2010 Director General for North America Commercial Affairs, DFAIT
2010 – 2012 Director General for North America Policy, DFAIT
25 Oct 2012 High Commissioner to Singapore
LANGUAGES: English, French, German, and Spanish
. . . . .
October 2012
HE FATMA F GALAL
AMBASSADOR TO SINGAPORE
ARAB REPUBLIC OF EGYPT
BORN: 20 August 1958, Cairo, Egypt
AGE: 54
MARITAL STATUS: Married to Dr Mohamed El Essawi El Fiki
Has a son and a daughter
EDUCATION: Bachelor Degree in Economics & Political Science, Cairo University, 1980
CAREER: 1981 Attache, International Organisations Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA)
1981 – 1982 Attache, Diplomatic Institute, MOFA
1982 – 1983 Attache, Israel Department, MOFA
1983 – 1987 Vice-Consul, Consulate General of Egypt, San Francisco
1991 – 1993 First Secretary, Consular Affairs Department, MOFA
1993 – 1998 Counsellor, Embassy of Egypt, London
1999 – 2004 Minister Plenipotentiary, Financial Committee, Scholars, Training and Technical Cooperation Affairs Department, MOFA
2004 – 2008 Consul-General, Consulate General of Egypt, Melbourne
2008 – 2012 Secretary-General, Egyptian Fund for Technical Cooperation with Africa
25 Oct 2012 Ambassador to Singapore
LANGUAGES: Arabic, English, French
October 2012
HE MAHBUB UZ ZAMAN
HIGH COMMISSIONER TO SINGAPORE
PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF BANGLADESH
BORN: 25 August 1961, Dhaka, Bangladesh
AGE: 51
MARITAL STATUS: Married to Mrs Shahreen Murshed Zaman
EDUCATION: Bachelor (with Honors) of Social Science in Economics, Dhaka University, Bangladesh, 1983
Masters of Social Science in Economics from Dhaka University, Bangladesh, 1984
CAREER: 1988 Assistant Secretary (Personnel - 1), Ministry of Foreign Affairs
1988 – 1992 Assistant Secretary (West Asia), Ministry of Foreign Affairs
1992 – 1995
Second/ First Secretary, High Commission of Bangladesh in New Delhi
1995 – 1998 Counsellor, High Commission of Bangladesh in Ottawa
1998 – 1999
Director, Europe, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
1999 – 2001 Director, Multilateral Economic Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
CAREER:
(Cont’d) 2001 – 2002 Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Bangladesh in New York
2002 – 2005 Counsellor, Embassy of Bangladesh in Tokyo
2005 – 2006 Minister, Permanent Mission of Bangladesh in Geneva
2006
Director-General, South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
2007 – 2008 Director-General, South Asia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Dec 2008 – Sep 2012 High Commissioner to Sri Lanka
25 Oct 2012 High Commissioner to Singapore
HONOURS AND AWARDS: 10th in Merit List (Humanities) of SSC (Matriculation) Exam 1978, Dhaka Board
9th in Merit List (Humanities) of SSC (Matriculation) Exam 1980, Dhaka Board
Awarded prizes in debate/ declamation competitions and other extra curricular activities
LANGUAGES: Bengali, English, French and Arabic (reading)
. . . . .
October 2012
HE CARLOS IRIGARAY SANTANA
AMBASSADOR TO SINGAPORE
ORIENTAL REPUBLIC OF URUGUAY
BORN: 8 December 1950, Montevideo, Uruguay
AGE: 61
MARITAL STATUS: Married to Mrs Liu Mei Cen
Has four sons and one daughter
EDUCATION: Primary and Secondary studies at the Lycée Français de Montevideo, 1953 to 1966
Intermediate studies at the Instituto Alfredo Vásquez Acevedo of Montevideo, 1967 to 1968
Diplomatic Instructions, Diplomatic Academy,
1984 to 1986
Certificate in Diplomacy at Oxford University, with special distinctions in International Politics and International Trade & Finance, 1986 to 1986
Degree in Diplomacy at the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences at the Universidad de la República, 1978 to 1981
CAREER: 1982 Third Secretary, International Economic Affairs Directorate, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
1982 – 1984 Desk Officer, Asian Countries, the Soviet Union and the USA, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
1984 – 1985 Third Secretary, Protocol Directorate, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
CAREER
(CON'D): 1986 – 1988 Second Secretary, International Organisations Directorate, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
1988 – 1993 First Secretary then Counsellor (Economic and Commercial Affairs), Embassy of Uruguay in Washington DC, USA
1993 – 1995 Counsellor and Director for US, Canada, Mexico, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
1995 – 2001 Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Uruguay in Santiago, Chile
In charge of MERCOSUR and ECLAC (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean)
2001 – 2003 Joint Director of Trade Promotion and National Coordinator, Special Meeting for Common Trade Promotion, MERCOSUR
2003 – 2009 Consul-General of Uruguay in Shanghai, China
2009 – 2011 Director, Business Intelligence and Trade Promotion, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
21 Feb 2012 – present Ambassador to Viet Nam
25 Oct 2012 Ambassador to Singapore
LANGUAGES SPOKEN: Spanish, English, French and basic Mandarin
. . . . .
