NEW PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF LAO PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC PRESENTS CREDENTIALS TO DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF UNOG

Thongphane Savanphet, the new Permanent Representative of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic 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. Savanphet served as Director-General of the Department of Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic from 2011 to 2013. He was Deputy Director-General of the Department from 2010 to 2011. From 2002 to 2010, he worked at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia as Senior Officer in the Social Development Unit (2002 to 2003); Senior Officer at the ASEAN Plus Three Unit – China, Japan and Republic of Korea (2003 to 2006); as Assistant Director and Head of the ASEAN Plus Three Unit (2007 to 2009); and as Assistant Director and Head of the ASEAN Political Cooperation Division (2009 to 2010). From 1996 to 2002, he worked at the ASEAN Political and Security Cooperation Division at the Department of ASEAN Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.

He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1989 and served as Third Secretary at the Embassy of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic in Canberra, Australia from 1993 to 1996.

Mr. Savanphet has a Master of Arts in diplomatic studies from the University of Leicester, England (1998), and a Master of Arts in public international law from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Russia (1988). He also has degrees in Russian language from the Institute of Foreign Languages in Kiev, Ukraine (1983) and in English language from the University of Canberra, Australia (1990). He was born on 28 June 1964 and is married with three children.


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CR13/024E