MFA Press Statement: Presentation of Credentials (POC) Ceremony

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS PRESS STATEMENT

PRESENTATION OF CREDENTIALS (POC) CEREMONY
29 MARCH 2007

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 United Kingdom,
His Excellency Paul Damian Madden;

(b) The Ambassador of the Lao People's Democratic Republic,
His Excellency Thouane Vorasarn;

(c) The Ambassador of the Republic of Korea,
His Excellency Kim Joong-keun;

(d) The Ambassador of the People's Republic of China,
Her Excellency Zhang Xiaokang; and

(e) The Ambassador of the Hellenic Republic,
His Excellency Ioannis Papadopoulos.

The curricula vitae of His Excellency Paul Damian Madden, His Excellency Thouane Vorasarn, His Excellency Kim Joong-keun, Her Excellency Zhang Xiaokang and His Excellency Ioannis Papadopoulos are attached.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
29 MARCH 2007
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PAUL DAMIAN MADDEN
HIGH COMMISSIONER TO SINGAPORE
UNITED KINGDOM

BORN: 25 April 1959, Devon

AGE: 48

MARITAL STATUS:

EDUCATION: Married
Has two sons and a daughter

Educated at the Universities of Cambridge, London School of Oriental and African Studies: Japanese Language 1986 - 1987; and Durham

Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society

CAREER: 1980 - 1987 Department Trade and Industry

1989 - 1992 Tokyo, First Secretary

1992 - 1994 FCO, Head of Environment Team

1994 - 1996 FCO, Head of Mediterranean Team

1996 - 2000 Washington, First Secretary

2000 - 2003 Singapore, Deputy High Commissioner

2003 - 2004 FCO, Head of Public Diplomacy Department

CAREER:
(cont'd) 2004 - 2006 Group Director, UK Trade and Investment

Nov 2006
to Mar 2007 High Commissioner-designate to Singapore

29 Mar 2007 High Commissioner to Singapore

LANGUAGES:

PUBLICATIONS:

Speaks Japanese and French

Wrote a book on Singapore entitled "Raffles - Lessons in Business Leadership", which was published in 2003. The book provides a new angle on Sir Stamford Raffles, and shows how Raffles' life, both its successes and failures, are of direct relevance to business leaders in the 21st century.

March 2007

____________________________________________________________________

THOUANE VORASARN

AMBASSADOR TO SINGAPORE

LAO PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC

BORN:
June 7, 1946, Savannakhet, Laos
AGE:
61 years
MARITAL STATUS: Married with 4 daughters

EDUCATION:
Degree in Law and Public Administration, University Sisavangvong, Vientiane

CAREER:
1975 Joined the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Department of Protocol

1977 Served as Third Secretary in the Embassy of the Lao PDR in Washington D.C.

1981 Second Secretary in the Embassy of the Lao PDR in Berlin

1983 Second Secretary in the Embassy of the Lao PDR in Phnom Penh

1985 Chief of Division of the Department of Politic No. 3 (Non-Aligned Countries), Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs

1986 First Secretary in the Embassy of the Lao PDR in Hanoi

1991 Deputy Director-General of Cabinet, Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs

1993 Acting Director-General of the Department of Press, Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs

CAREER:
(cont'd) 1996 Consul-General, Consulate General of the Lao PDR in Ho Chi Minh City

1997 Ambassador of Lao PDR to the Federation of Russia and to the Republic of Belarussia

2002 Ambassador of the Lao PDR to the Kingdom of Cambodia

Nov 2006 to Mar 2007 Ambassador-designate of the Lao PDR to Singapore

29 Mar 2007 Ambassador of the Lao PDR to Singapore

Foreign Languages: French, English and Thai

. . . . .

March 2007
____________________________________________________________________

KIM JOONG-KEUN

AMBASSADOR TO SINGAPORE

REPUBLIC OF KOREA

BORN: 6 May 1952

AGE: 55

MARITAL Married
STATUS: Has a son and a daughter

EDUCATION: Graduated from the Department of Trade, Seoul National University, 1977

CAREER: May 1978 Passed the High Diplomatic Service Examination

Aug 1978 Joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA)

Aug 1980 Third Secretary, ROK Embassy in Cote d'Ivoire

Sep 1985 Consul, ROK Consulate-General in Los Angeles, USA

Jun 1990 First Secretary, ROK Embassy in Washington D.C., USA

Jun 1993 Counsellor, ROK Embassy in the Czech Republic

Feb 1995 Director, Protocol Division, MOFA

CAREER:
(cont'd) Aug 1996 Director, International Trade Division II, International Trade Bureau, MOFA

Jun 1997 Counsellor, ROK Permanent Mission to the UN Secretariat and International Organisations in Geneva, Switzerland

Jul 2000 Deputy Director-General, Bilateral Trade Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT)

Aug 2001 Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) Representative, Light Water Reactor (LWR) Construction Site in the DPRK

Aug 2003 Senior Researcher, Georgetown University

Feb 2005 Head, Office of Foreign Disaster Relief & Reconstruction, Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA)

Oct 2005
Deputy Minister for Trade, MOFAT

Feb 2007
to Mar 2007 Ambassador-designate of the Republic of Korea to Singapore

29 Mar 2007 Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Singapore

. . . . .

March 2007

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MADAM ZHANG XIAOKANG

AMBASSADOR TO SINGAPORE

PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

BORN: July 1949, Sichuan

AGE: 57

MARTIAL STATUS Married to Mr Zha Peixin, the current PRC Ambassador to the United Kingdom
Has a son

EDUCATION: Engaged in advanced studies in the London School of Economics, UK, 1975 - 76

CAREER: 1976 - 82 Staff Member, Department of International Organisations and Conferences, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA)

1982 - 83 Assistant to Executive Director for China in the International Monetary Fund

1983 - 90 Third Secretary, Deputy Director then Director, Department of International Organisations and Conferences, MFA

1990 - 92 First Secretary, PRC Embassy in Canada

1992 - 96
First Secretary, then Counsellor, Department of International Organisations and Conferences, MFA
1996 - 99
Deputy Director-General, Department of International Organisations and Conferences, MFA

1999 - 2002 Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Ireland

CAREER:
(cont'd) 2002 -
Mar 2007 Minister Counsellor, PRC Embassy in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Mar 2007 Ambassador-designate of the People's Republic of China to Singapore

29 Mar 2007 Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Singapore

. . . . .

March 2007

____________________________________________________________________

IOANNIS PAPADOPOULOS

AMBASSADOR TO SINGAPORE

HELLENIC REPUBLIC

BORN: 1950, Athens

AGE: 57

MARITAL STATUS: Married with three daughters

EDUCATION: Graduate of Political Science, Panteios University

Graduate of International Law, Department of the Law School, University of Athens

Attended Course 64 at the NATO Defence College in Rome

CAREER: 1979 Attache, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

1979 Protocol Department, MFA

1981 Promoted to Third Secretary

1981 Head of the Consular Section, Embassy of the Hellenic Republic in Rome

1984 Promoted to Second Secretary

1985 Directorate for Relations with Turkey, MFA

1986 Promoted to First Secretary

1986 Charge d'Affaires a.i. and Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of the Hellenic Republic in Warsaw
CAREER:
(cont'd) 1989 Consul-General of the Hellenic Republic in Wellington

1991 Promoted to Second Counsellor

1993 Promoted to First Counsellor

1995 Head of the Department for Mainland Asia, Directorate for Asia and Oceania, MFA

1996 Deputy Inspector-General, MFA

1998 Consul-General of the Hellenic Republic in Montreal

2002 Deputy Head of the Directorate for Administrative and Judicial Affairs, MFA

2003 Promoted to Minister Plenipotentiary Second Class

2003 Alternate Head of the Directorate for Administrative and Judicial Affairs, MFA

2006 Ambassador of the Hellenic Republic to Thailand

Sep 2006
to Mar 2007 Ambassador-designate of the Hellenic Republic to Singapore, resident in Bangkok

29 Mar 2007 Ambassador of the Hellenic Republic to Singapore, resident in Bangkok

AWARDS/
DECORATIONS: Golden Cross of the Order of Lion (Senegal)

Golden Distinction of Honour of the Order of Valor (Austria)

LANGUAGES: English, French, Italian

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March 2007