MFA Press Statement: Presentation of Credentials Ceremony, 25 October 2012

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

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