Raoul Delcorde
Ambassador of Belgium
Mr. Delcorde has a PhD in political science. He began his career as an assistant professor before entering the diplomatic service in 1984. Two years later, he was deputy head of mission in Islamabad and, following that, he was first secretary at the UN in New York. He served two years as first secretary to the OSCE mission in Vienna before returning to headquarters.
From 1996 to 2000, he was minister-counsellor in Washington and, in 2003, became ambassador to Sweden before becoming ambassador to Poland in 2010.
At headquarters, he served as deputy director for Europe and, later, multilateral affairs, and also as assistant to the secretary general for the foreign ministry during Belgium’s presidency of the Schengen Agreement.
He is married to Fatemeh Delcorde Javadi and has two daughters.
Koviljka Špiri´c
Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ms Špirić has a bachelor of arts in pedagogy and psychology from the University of Novi Sad and spent the first nine years of her working life as a educational adviser before joining the NGO Futura Plus as president, lecturer and project manager for 10 years.
For nine years, beginning in 1997, she became co-ordinator and interpreter for peacekeeping forces in her country, before spending a year as co-ordinator for the implementation of the protocol of co-operation between the provinces of Di Belluno, Italy, and Teslic, Republika Srpska. From 2009 to 2010, she was senior adviser responsible for international co-operation and drafting of development programs for the muncipality of Teslic.
In 2010, she became ambassador to Poland. This is her second diplomatic posting. In addition to her native language, Ms Špirić speaks English and Polish. She is married and has two children.
Mahamat Ali Adoum
Ambassador of Chad
Mr. Adoum is a politician and diplomat. Before taking up his post in Canada, he was Chad’s permanent representative to the United Nations.
This is Mr. Adoum’s second appointment to Canada. He has also served as ambassador to the United States and Argentina. In 1992, he was appointed foreign affairs minister for one year. In 1994, he joined the World Bank as senior adviser to the executive director for African French-speaking countries, and remained at the World Bank until 2003.
Early postings included Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, United Kingdom and the European Community. Mr. Adoum studied political science at the Université Laval in Quebec City, and has a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
Alfonso Silva
Ambassador of Chile
Ambassador Alfonso Silva studied law at Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaiso, Chile. He also pursued postgraduate studies at Johns Hopkins University and Georgetown University in the U.S.
Among Mr. Silva’s postings abroad, he was secretary and counsellor at the embassy of Chile in the United States (1977 and again in1983); counsellor at the embassy of Chile in Brazil (1992); consul general in Barcelona (1996); permanent representative of Chile to the Latin American Integration Association ALADI, in Montevideo, Uruguay (2000-2001).
Between 2004 and 2007, he was ambassador to Jamaica with accreditation to Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Guyana, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Grenada and Saint Lucia. After that post, he was appointed ambassador to India (2007-2010).
Mr. Silva is married and has five children.
Sturla Sigurjónsson
Ambassador of Iceland
Mr. Sigurjónsson joined the foreign ministry in 1987 as first secretary. In 1988, he became an officer in the political affairs division at NATO headquarters in Brussels. He returned to the security policy desk in Reykjavik, then went to the UN mission in New York. He did a stint as consul in the U.S. before returning to New York as deputy permanent representative, followed by a one-year posting as consul-general in New York.
He’s since had postings at NATO in Brussels as deputy chief of mission. He returned to Reykjavik for four years, before going to India as ambassador in 2006. He became ambassador to Denmark in 2009.
He is married to Elín Jónsdóttir, a nurse, and they have five children.
Petronila P. Garcia
Ambassador of the Philippines
Ms. Garcia is a career diplomat who served as ambassador to the Arab Republic of Egypt with concurrent accreditation to Sudan (2004-2007) and as ambassador to Israel (2007-2011). She was the assistant secretary for Middle East and African Affairs at headquarters from 2011 to 2014.
The ambassador was born in San Juan, Rizal, Philippines, and holds a bachelor’s degree in behavioural science (1977) from Maryknoll College and a bachelor of laws degree.
She joined the foreign ministry in 1981. She also served in Singapore as third secretary and consul; at the consulate general in Australia, as consul; in Israel as counsellor; in South Africa as counsellor and charge d’affaires and in South Korea as minister and chargé d’ affaires.
Mihailo Papazoglu
Ambassador of Serbia
Mr. Papazoglu comes to his posting in Ottawa after serving as Serbia’s chief of diplomatic protocol. Prior to that, he was minister-counsellor for multicultural affairs at headquarters and before that, adviser on EU policy in the office of the deputy prime minister for European integration. For one year before that, he was first counsellor for multilateral affairs at the foreign ministry’s UN directorate.
From 2007 to 2009, he was acting director of the Serbian Cultural Centre in Paris and before that, counsellor at the embassy in Paris. Between 1998 and 2003, he was third secretary and vice-consul at the permanent mission to the Council of Europe. From 1996 to 1998, he was attaché and third secretary in the neighbouring countries directorate at headquarters.
He has a master’s in EU law from Belgrade University. He is married and has one son.
Marjan Cencen
Ambassador of Slovenia
Mr. Cencen is a career diplomat. He joined the foreign ministry in 1993 and began on the Africa, Asia and Latin America desk. Soon, he was appointed deputy head of mission in Beijing. He returned to headquarters in 2000, as deputy head of the department responsible for North America and three years later, was appointed minister and deputy head of mission in Russia.
Mr. Cencen’s next posting came in 2005, as ambassador to China, with responsibility for Vietnam, Mongolia, Korea and Thailand. In 2009, he returned to headquarters as co-ordinator for the European Parliament. In 2012, he became director general, responsible for relations with Eastern Europe, Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific.
The ambassador has a PhD in international relations and is married to Lilijana Cencen Pogorevcnik. They have two daughters.
Beat Nobs
Ambassador of Switzerland
Prior to coming to Canada, Mr. Nobs was assistant state secretary for the Asia Pacific. Before that, he spent five years as ambassador to New Zealand, with cross-accreditation for Fiji Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands and Niue.
At headquarters, he worked as ambassador for environmental affairs and as chief negotiator on the environment between 1997 and 2005 and vice-president of the UN Environmental Program.
Canada is not new to him as he studied at the University of British Columbia. He has a PhD in history and speaks Swiss, German, French, English and Spanish.
Mr. Nobs has also had postings in Kenya and Costa Rica. He is married to Dr. Irene Knöpfel Nobs and has three sons.
Bruce J. D. Linghu
Representative for the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office
Mr. Linghu has been serving as director-general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles for the past year.
He started his diplomatic career in 1982 and was special assistant to the deputy minister, MOFA (1985-1987), and senior assistant to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles (1987-1993).
From 1993 to 1995, he was senior assistant to the vice-minister, MOFA. He was then division director in San Francisco, after which he returned to Los Angeles as deputy director general.
He was in charge of North American affairs (2001-2004) and director general in Auckland (2004-2007). He was then ambassador to the Marshall Islands. He was director general of North American Affairs prior to his most recent posting in Los Angeles.
Non-heads of mission
Albania
Orjeta Çobani
First secretary
Australia
David Patrick Arnold
Counsellor
Austria
Sigrid Kodym
First secretary and consul
Azerbaijan
Faig Babayev
Attaché
Ramil Huseynli
Counsellor and chargé d’affaires
Belarus
Igor Yermakov
Chargé d’affaires
Brazil
Pedro Miguel Da Costa E Silva
Minister-counsellor
Pablo Duarte Cardoso
Counsellor
Bulgaria
Kamen Valentinov Dikov
Second secretary
Svetlana Stoycheva-Etropolski
First secretary
China
Ping Gao
Counsellor
Feng Guo
Assistant military naval and air attaché
Gang Huang
Third secretary
Yili Jiang
Counsellor
Jianxin Lin
First secretary
Shiying Zhang
First secretary
Costa Rica
Monica Cruz Bolanos
Minister-Counsellor and consul general
Croatia
Martina Mihovilic
Second secretary
Dominican Republic
Wendy Campagna
Counsellor
Ecuador
Luis Fernando Fiallos Pazmino
Second secretary
Zoila Irene Veliz Veliz
Attaché
European Union
Elisabeth Anne Hundhammer
Attaché
Raul Sanchez Pascual
Attaché
Ann-Christin Saubert
Attaché
Finland
Veli-Pekka Jalmari Kaivola
Minister-counsellor
Germany
Martin Ingolf Bierbach
First secretary
Jana Heinze
Attaché
Claudia Maria Ringwald
Third secretary
Lydia Sasnovskis
Third secretary
Marcus Stadthaus
First secretary
Bernard Wille
First secretary
Benjamin Paul Finn
Counsellor
Adir Rubin
Minister-Counsellor and consul
Adam Susman
Defence attaché
Italy
Francesco Corsaro
Second secretary
Fabrizio Nava
Minister-Counsellor and deputy chief of mission
Japan
Takuya Nakagome
Third secretary
Kuwait
Abdullah Aljarallah
Attaché
Hamad Buhadedah
First secretary
Hamad Ebrahim
Third secretary
Aeda Abuzreba
Attaché
Khaled Elsahli
Counsellor
Mexico
Alejandro Mazin Serna
Minister
Mongolia
Enerel Bayarbaatar
Attaché
Delgerjargal Ganbold
Third secretary
Myanmar
Soe Myint
Counsellor
New Zealand
Charlotte Louise Kempthorne
Second secretary
Nigeria
Ja’afar Mahmoud Balarabe
Minister
Pakistan
Abrar Hussain Hashmi
Counsellor
Peru
Carlos Manuel Molinari
Deputy head of mission
Philippines
Elson Aguilar
Defence military and naval attaché
Poland
Olga Jablonska
Second secretary
Tomasz Pawel Kijewski
Third secretary
Romania
Radu Corozel
Attaché
Russia
Vasily Kultyshev
Third secretary
Saudi Arabia
Khalid Turki F. Alkahtani
Attaché
Fares Enad H. Alshammari
Attaché
Khaled Khalil I. Nahhas
Second secretary
Serbia
Miodrag Sekulic
Counsellor
South Africa
Kholofelo Maja
Third secretary
Sri Lanka
Saddha Waruna Wilpatha
Minister
Sudan
Arwa Anwar M. Salih
Second secretary
Tunisia
Mustapha Souaissi
Attaché
United Kingdom
Christian Michael Cook
First secretary
United States Of America
Reginald Herrick
Attaché
Terry Joe Lehman
Attaché
David Alan Meyer
Attaché
Mary Kathryn Oliver
First secretary
Richard Elliott Pinkham Ii
Attaché and vice-consul
Kellie Maurice Reifstenzel
Assistant attaché
Adam Paul West
First secretary
Yemen
Radowan Ahmed A. Alfutini
Third secretary
