New heads of mission
Arno Riedel
Ambassador of Austria
Mr. Riedel completed an MBA from the University of Economics in Vienna before studying at Vienna’s diplomatic academy.
He began his foreign service career in 1980 as a desk officer, and, within five years, was first secretary at the embassy in Budapest. He was counsellor in Jakarta and then Tehran, where he also served as director of the Austrian Cultural Institute. He returned to headquarters for three years before becoming minister-counsellor at the embassy in Rome and vice-governor to the International Fund for Agricultural Development.
His first post as ambassador was to Albania. He then returned to the ministry for several years before becoming ambassador to Thailand with dual accreditation to Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar. He was director for Central, Western and Northern Europe before being posted to Canada.
Kamrul Ahsan
High Commissioner for Bangladesh
Mr. Ahsan is an engineer by training and a career diplomat by profession. He has a bachelor of civil engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology and worked in the field for four years before joining the foreign service as an assistant secretary.
His first posting was as second secretary, and then first secretary at Bangladesh’s embassy in China. He then served at the mission in Britain, as both first secretary and counsellor (political).
At headquarters, he was director of personnel, director for South Asia and the director of the foreign secretary’s office. Between 2001 and 2003, he was political counsellor in Washington before becoming consul-general in Dubai. Just before coming to Canada, he was high commissioner to Singapore.
He is married to Madam Saira Nazneen Ahsan and has two sons.
Alexander Latsabidze
Ambassador of Georgia
Mr. Latsabidze joined the ministry of foreign affairs in 1998 and was appointed consul in Iran one year later. From 2002 to 2003, he returned to headquarters as counsellor, first in the Middle East section and later, the Asia, Africa, Australia and the Pacific Rim section. He then became responsible for China, Japan and the Far East before taking on Eastern affairs.
In 2006, he was appointed consul in Washington with responsibilities in Canada and Mexico. He became chargé d’affaires at the embassy in Canada in 2011 before going to Argentina as ambassador, with accreditation to Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.
He became ambassador to Canada and permanent representative to the International Civil Aviation Organization in 2012.
Mr. Latsabidze speaks Georgian, English, Persian, Russian and Japanese. He is married with one daughter.
Cho Hee-yong
Ambassador of Korea
Mr. Cho is a career diplomat who joined the foreign ministry in 1979 after completing a bachelor’s degree in economics from Seoul National University.
Mr. Cho’s first posting was to Japan, as second secretary between 1984 and 1987. Next, he went to China as first secretary for six years (1990-1996). He also had accreditation to Taiwan during that period.
From 1996 to 2000, he returned to headquarters as director of the protocol division and then director for planning and budget. He then spent three years as counsellor at the mission in Washington and another year as minister and consul in the Philippines.
In 2008, he became ambassador to Sweden, with dual accreditation in Latvia.
Mr. Cho is married with a son and a daughter.
Fadjimata Maman Sidibe
Ambassador of Niger
Ms. Sidibe comes to diplomacy after a long career in education, which culminated in a brief foray into politics when she served as Niger’s education minister for one year.
Ms. Sidibe began her career as a professor of physics and then moved on to teach at a French-Arab school. She went on to become an educational consultant and then director of teaching for the ministry of secondary education. Following that, she became minister of education.
The ambassador is a graduate of scientific studies (physics) from the University of Niamey in Niger. She also studied educational consultation and inspection at the University of Abdou Moumouni in Niamey.
She speaks seven languages including French, English, Kanuri, Haoussa, Toubou, Djerma and Bambara. Ms. Sidibe is married and has five children.
Jorge Hernan Miranda Corona
Ambassador of Panama
Early in his career, diplomat Jorge Hernan Miranda Corona was an attaché in Washington, counsellor at the permanent mission to the OAS, consul general in Seville, Spain and later, chargé d’affaires at the embassy in Madrid. He also spent four years as his country’s representative to the Inter-American System.
Between 2008 and early 2012, he was ambassador and representative to the general secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Honduras, which, during his time, negotiated the Tegucigalpa/San José Agreement and established the Commission for Truth and Reconciliation in Honduras.
He also has experience in election monitoring, having organized observation missions to Nicaragua (1990), Honduras (2008) and El Salvador (2009).
He is married to Esther Arias Vargas and has two children.
Non-heads of mission
Afghanistan
Najibullah Safi
Second secretary
Angola
Domingas Pedro José De C. Teixeira
Attaché
Australia
Geraldine Anne Taylor
Second secretary
Toy Johnson
Second secretary
Bangladesh
Muhammed Muksud Khan
First secretary
Bulgaria
Desislava Petrova Dragneva
Second secretary
Cameroon
Elie Banbara
Defence attaché
China
Xinxin Kong
Second secretary
Boyong Wang
First secretary
Cuba
Adrian Betancourt Maden
Attaché
Egypt
Maher A. Mohamed Elkholy
Attaché
European Union
Manfred Edgar G. Auster
Minister-counsellor
France
Christelle Diane T. Sarnelli
First secretary
Germany
Pietro Ambrogio T. Merlo
Counsellor
Ghana
Joseph Kennedy Odoom
First secretary
Haiti
Maria Alexandra Georges
Second secretary
Wedlyne Pierre
Second secretary
India
Mahesh Kumar
Attaché
Iraq
Shireen Taher Shhbaz Al-Haideri
Attaché
Japan
Yosuke Yamamoto
Attaché
Kenya
Anne Nyambura Mbugua
First counsellor
Korea, Republic
Changseob Han
Minister-counsellor
Kuwait
Fahad Abdulrahman H. Alnaser
Attaché
Libya
Khalifa Alghuwel
First secretary
Hakim Sherif
Attaché
Nouria Bensaleh
Attaché
Maldives
Salim Waheed
First secretary
Mexico
Jose Manuel Guido Romero
Naval attaché
Mongolia
Zorigtbaatar Tserenchimed
First secretary
Morocco
Ahmed Alaoui-Benhachem
Attaché
Amina Rabhi
Minister
Myanmar
Than Htwe
Counsellor
Cho Ti
Attaché
Palestine
Hamdi Abu Ali
Counsellor
Portugal
Joao Paulo Marques Sabido Costa
Minister-counsellor
Russia
Oleg Zhiganov
First secretary
Ivan Valov
Attaché
Saudi Arabia
Samia Muhsen H. Al Jabri
Attaché
Falah Abdullah M. Alqahtani
Attaché
Abdullah Khalid Abdullah Bin Khamis
Attaché
Abdulaziz Saud A. Almasoud
Attaché
Emad Abdullah A. Alhoushan
Attaché
Mansour Mohammed M. Bin Khithaila
Attaché
Sudan
Osman Abufatima Adam Mohammed
Deputy head of mission
Sweden
Annika Maria White
First secretary
Ukraine
Oleksandr Bunisevych
First secretary
United States of America
Paul Douglas Yeskoo
First secretary
Donna Marie Garcia
Assistant attaché
Scott Richard Reynolds
Minister-counsellor
Carrie Monique Romoser
Second secretary
Mark Charles Gillespie
Attaché
Diane Lyn Sovereign
First secretary
Lucy Kimball Abbott
Counsellor
