NEW PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF MALTA PRESENTS CREDENTIALS TO DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF UNOG

John Paul Grech, the new Permanent Representative of Malta to the United Nations Office at Geneva, today presented his credentials to Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva.

Prior to his appointment to Geneva, Mr. Grech had been serving as Special Envoy of the Government of Malta to lobby for the holding in Malta of the 5+5 Dialogue Summit of Heads of State and Government (2012). He also served as the Executive Secretary for the Summit Meeting, which was held in Malta on 5 and 6 October 2012. Mr. Grech served as Ambassador of Malta to Germany from 2005 to 2010. Concurrently, in 2008, he was Special Envoy of the Government of Malta to lobby for Malta’s candidature to host the seat to the Secretariat of the Barcelona Process/Union of the Mediterranean; and Ambassador of Malta to Poland, resident in Berlin.

A career diplomat, Mr. Grech joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malta in 1990. During this period, he was responsible for numerous duties, including as Deputy Permanent Representative of Malta to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and to United Nations specialized agencies in Vienna from 2001 to 2004. Concurrently, in 2003, he was Chargé d’Affaires to Slovakia, resident in Vienna. During his career, he has participated actively in meetings within the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe and the United Nations, and at bilateral levels.

Mr. Grech has a B.A. in education from the University of Malta (1981); an M.A. in diplomacy from the Mediterranean Academy for Diplomatic Studies at the University of Malta (1992); and a Doctorate in Philosophy in international relations from the University of Malta (2001). From 1981 to 1989, he taught in government and private institutions. He also lectured on international relations at the University of Malta from 1995 to 2000. He was born on 3 July 1958 and is married with three children.


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CR13/002E