Presentation of Credentials Ceremony, 9 September 2025

The following foreign Heads of Mission presented their credentials to President Tharman Shanmugaratnam in separate ceremonies at the Istana today:

(a)       The Ambassador of the Czech Republic

Her Excellency Dana Baschová

(b)      The Ambassador of the Republic of Estonia

His Excellency Veikko Kala

(c)       The Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium

Her Excellency Severine Marie-Dominique de Potter de ten Broeck

(d)      The Ambassador of the Russian Federation

His Excellency Sergey Pavlovich Ganzha

Their bio summaries are attached.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

9 SEPTEMBER 2025

HER EXCELLENCY DANA BASCHOVÁ

AMBASSADOR TO SINGAPORE

CZECH REPUBLIC

Prior to her appointment as Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Singapore, Ambassador Dana Baschová served as Director of the Department of the Americas at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic. 

Ambassador Baschová has held several positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. These include Head of the Office of the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2006 to 2009, and Head of the North America Unit from 2020 to 2023. Ambassador Baschová’s previous diplomatic assignments include postings at the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Tel Aviv, Israel from 2010 to 2013 and as Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Vienna, Austria from 2014 to 2017. 

Ambassador Baschová was a member of the NATO Summit Task Force in 2002, the Czech expert to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad, Iraq in 2003, and worked with the People in Need organization from 2004 to 2005. Ambassador Baschová also served as Deputy Director of the Aspen Institute Central Europe from 2017 to 2020. 

Ambassador Baschová holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and History, and a Master’s degree in German and Austrian Studies from Charles University. 

Ambassador Baschová is married with one daughter.

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HIS EXCELLENCY VEIKKO KALA

AMBASSADOR TO SINGAPORE

REPUBLIC OF ESTONIA

Prior to his appointment as Ambassador of Estonia to Singapore, Ambassador Veikko Kala was Estonia’s Ambassador to Israel from 2021 to 2025. 

Ambassador Kala, a career diplomat, has held several posts in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including at the Policy Planning Department and Arms Control Department.  He has also served in Vienna from 2009 to 2012 and in Moscow from 2014 to 2017, where he was Deputy Chief of the Mission. Ambassador Kala was the Foreign Policy Adviser to the Prime Minister from 2019 to 2021. 

Ambassador Kala is a graduate of the Department of Political Science at the University of Tartu, Estonia and has earned a Master’s degree. 

Ambassador Kala is married with three children.

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HER EXCELLENCY SÉVERINE MARIE-DOMINIQUE DE POTTER DE TEN BROECK

AMBASSADOR TO SINGAPORE

KINGDOM OF BELGIUM

Prior to her appointment as Ambassador of Belgium to Singapore, Ambassador Séverine de Potter de ten Broeck was the Head of the Belgian Diplomatic Office in Maputo, Mozambique from 2021 to 2025.

Ambassador de Potter de ten Broeck joined the Belgian Federal Public Service (FPS) Foreign Affairs in 2011. She has served in postings in Tokyo from 2012 to 2016 and in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from 2016 to 2020. Within the Belgian FPS Foreign Affairs, she has also worked on international cyber policy. 

Prior to joining the FPS Foreign Affairs, Ambassador de Potter de ten Broeck was working on integration and migration issues with the Belgian federal equality body, Unia.  

Ambassador de Potter de ten Broeck graduated from the Université Libre de Bruxelles and is married with one son.

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HIS EXCELLENCY SERGEY PAVLOVICH GANZHA

AMBASSADOR TO SINGAPORE

RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Prior to his appointment as Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Singapore, Ambassador Sergey Pavlovich Ganzha was the Deputy Director of the Special Communications Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation from 2023 to 2025.

Ambassador Ganzha, a career diplomat, has served in the diplomatic service since 1982. His previous diplomatic assignments include Consul General in Hamburg from 2005 to 2013, and Consul General in Munich from 2014 to 2023. He also served as Deputy Director of the Security Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2014. 

Ambassador Ganzha graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR in 1982, and from the Russian Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation in 2000. He also holds a PhD in Economic Sciences.

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