Diplomacy – Accreditation of Ambassadors from Thailand – Mauritania – Hungary

From left to right: H.E. Mr Sihasak Phuangketkeow, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Thailand;
 H.E. Mr Georges Karolyi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Hungary;Mr Gilles Tonelli, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation; H.E. Ms Aichetou M’Haiham, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Mauritania © Government Communication Department / Manuel Vitali

On Thursday 3 November 2016, Gilles Tonelli, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, received H.E. Mr Sihasak Phuangketkeow, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Thailand, H.E. Ms Aichetou M’Haiham, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Mauritania and H.E. Mr Georges Karolyi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Hungary, who presented their credentials to H.S.H. the Sovereign Prince during the morning.

Following their meeting, an official lunch hosted by Gilles Tonelli was held at the Hotel Hermitage.

H.E. Mr Sihasak Phuangketkeow began his diplomatic career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1979; he then joined the Embassy in Washington before being appointed to the Department of Political Affairs. In 1999, he became Deputy Director-General of the Department of South-East Asian Affairs and from 2002 to 2004 served as Director-General of the Department of Information. He has also been Consul General to Hong Kong, Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Office of the United Nations in Geneva and Ambassador of Thailand to Japan. With a background at the Ministry of National Education and the Ecole Normale Supérieure, H.E. Ms Aichetou M’Haiham was nominated as Secretary of State for Women’s Affairs in 1997. In 1998, she became president of a national NGO promoting women’s rights in rural areas. Since 2005, she has occupied the posts of Advisor to the President of the Republic for Cultural and Social Affairs, Deputy Commissioner for Food Security and Commissioner for Human Rights and Humanitarian Action.

H.E. Mr Georges Karolyi began working for the Sales Department of the French national aerospace company Aérospatiale, managing sales contracts for the Concorde aircraft, in 1971, before joining the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 1974 as the Chief of Staff for the Director General. He then took on responsibility for studies and research in the Research Department. He joined Fiat in Paris in 1978, where he was assistant to the President and CEO, then Director for Management Control at the company. He founded the Joseph Karolyi Foundation, which seeks to promote an open approach to Europe in Hungary.