OPR-  Thursday, 11th March, 2005

The President of Malta, H.E. Dr. Edward Fenech Adami,  was presented with the letters of credence by H.E. Mr Cho Young-Jai, Ambassador of South Korea, H.E. Mr. Ngam Yahya, Ambassador of Mauritania and H.E Dr. Saad A.E. Elshalmani, Secretary of the People’s Bureau of the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.

The ceremony took place in the Ambassadors’ Room at The Palace, Valletta.

This afternoon, the President will host the newly accredited Ambassadors to an official luncheon at San Anton Palace.

The curriculum vitae of H.E. Mr. Cho Young-Jai, H.E. Mr. Ngam Yahya and H.E. Dr. Saad A. E. Elshalmani follow.

 - - - - - -

H.E.  Mr. Cho Young-Jai was born in July of 1951.

In 1972 the Ambassador graduated from the Department of Business Administration from the Seoul National University. He then furthered his studies in the United States M.A. in Diplomacy.

His diplomatic career started in 1974 when he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was then appointed third secretary at the Korean Embassy in the USA.  In 1988 he was also Secretary to the President of and a year later was appointed as Director, International Organisations Division, and International Organisation Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He held various high-ranking positions in the diplomatic corp, the latest being that of Deputy Minister for Planning and Management in April of 2003.

The President is married and has a son and a daughter.

President Fenech Adami and Ambassador Young-Jai

- - - - - -

H.E Ngam Yahya was born in June 1957, in Bogdine Mauritania.

Ambassador Yahya is a holder of a baccalaureate in modern literature from the Nouakchott Lyceum. He also holds a diploma in International Law from the Ivory Coast as well as another in Public Law. He also obtained a diploma of higher study in International law from Yaounnde, Cameroon.

Ambassador Yahya started out as a teaching assistant at the Faculty of Law in Nouchakchot. Between1989-1990 he was made head of the Multilaterals Division of the Mauritanian Foreign Service, soon followed by a posting as Second Secretary at the Mauritanian Embassy in Bucharest. In turn this was followed by a posting to the Embassy of Mauritania in Morocco, where he was attached between 1991 – 1996.

 President Fenech Adami and Ambassador Yahya

The Ambassador had also been active in International Fora.  In particular, he was also President of the Committee of African Experts responsible for analyzing the UN Secretary General’s Report on the promotion of Peace and Sustainable Development in Africa, April 1998, and the preparation of an evolved report for the Security Council. In December 1996 to April 1999 he was First Counsellor at the Permanent Mission at the Republic of Mauritania’s Embassy in New York. In Ambassador Yahya’s prior job (1999- 2004) he consecutively occupied the position of Ambassador and the Director of European and American Affairs at the Mauritanian Foreign Ministry.

The Ambassador is married and has two children.

- - - - - -

H.E. Dr. Saad A. E. Elshalmani was born in 1957 in Benghazi.

In 1980 he graduated from Benghazi University with a B.A. in Political Science. He continued his studies in the United Kingdom and obtained an M.A in Middle East Politics and a PhD in International Relations, both from University of Durham.

President Fenech Adami and Ambassador Elshalmani

His political career started in 1981 when he worked within the European Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was then posted to the Libyan Embassy in Kigali Rwanda. Assigned back to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs he was responsible for the African Department within the Ministry and then for the European Department within the same Ministry. In year 2004 he was appointed Charge d’Affaires of the Libyan Popular Bureau in Malta.