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
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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
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March 2007
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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
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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
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March 2007
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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