MFA Press Statement: Presentation of Credentials Ceremony, 26 May 2011

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

(a) The High Commissioner of the Independent State of Samoa,
His Excellency Lemalu Tate Simi

(b) The High Commissioner of the Republic of Botswana
His Excellency Sasara Chasala George

The curricula vitae of His Excellency Lemalu Tate Simi and His Excellency Sasara Chasala George are attached.

. . . . .

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
26 MAY 2011
_______________________________
LEMALU TATE SIMI

HIGH COMMISSIONER

INDEPENDENT STATE OF SAMOA

(RESIDENT IN CANBERRA)

BORN:    19 October 1952, Apia, Samoa

AGE:    58

MARITAL STATUS:    Married to Mdm Noumea
Has 4 children

EDUCATION:    Samoa College, Apia, Samoa, 1972

Central Institute of Technology, New Zealand, 1977
(Studied Architectural Draughting)

CAREER:    1972 — 1974    Cadet Draughtsman, Ministry of Works Head Office, Wellington, New Zealand

1974 ― 1977    Architectural Draughtsman, Housing Corporation of New Zealand, Wellington, New Zealand

1978    Senior Architectural Draughtsman, Department of Works, Apia, Samoa

1978 — 1982    Labour Inspector, Department of Labour, Apia, Samoa

1982 — 1984    Assistant Commissioner of Labour, Department of Labour, Apia, Samoa

1984 ― 2003    Permanent Head (Commissioner of Labour), Department of Labour, Apia, Samoa

CAREER
(cont'd)    2003 —2009    CEO, Ministry of Commerce Industry and Labour

2009 -
to date    High Commissioner to Australia

26 May 2011 -
High Commissioner to the Republic of Singapore (Resident in Canberra)

OTHER APPOINTMENTS:    Held other appointments such as a Member of the Public Service Board of Appeal (1986 — 1990), Director, National Revenues Board (2003 - to date), Director, Small Business Enterprises Board (2003 - to date), Director, Samoa Tourism Authority Board (2003 - to date) and Member, Investment Projects Committee (2005 - to date)

OTHER
ACTIVITIES:    Represented Samoa at international conferences by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), Heads of Investment Promotion Agencies Meetings (HIPAM), Codex Alimentarius Commission, and other International and Regional Conferences.

HOBBIES:    Music, Art, Reading, Poetry, Rugby

. . . . .

May 2011
_________________________________

SASARA CHASALA GEORGE

HIGH COMMISSIONER

REPUBLIC OF BOTSWANA

(RESIDENT IN BEIJING)

BORN:    17 December 1952, Tlokweng Village, Botswana

AGE:    58

MARITAL
STATUS:    Married to Mrs Mmammidi Clementine George
Has 3 daughters

EDUCATION:    BA (Political Science), University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland

CAREER:    1976    Joined the Department of Foreign Affairs

1978 - 1983    Second Secretary, Botswana High Commission in Lusaka, Zambia

1983    Recalled to the Department of Foreign Affairs

1985 - 1988    Counsellor and Deputy Ambassador, Botswana Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden

1988 - 1990    Counsellor and Deputy High Commissioner, Botswana High Commission in London, UK

1990 - 1994    Chief of Protocol

1994 - 1996    High Commissioner in Lusaka (with concurrent accreditations to Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia and Organisation of African Unity)

CAREER :
(cont'd)    1996 - 2005    Ambassador in Brussels (with concurrent accreditations to the European Union, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and UNESCO

2005 - 2007    Director of Europe and Americas, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation

2008 - 2010    Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation

Jan 2011 -
to date    Ambassador to the People's Republic of China

26 May 2011    High Commissioner to the Republic of Singapore (Resident in Beijing)

HOBBIES:    Soccer, fishing, weight-lifting, walking, jogging, cycling and reading

. . . . .

May 2011