OPR - Thursday, 12th May, 2005

The President of Malta, H.E. Dr. Edward Fenech Adami, was presented with the letters of credence by H.E. Sitki Ugur Ziyal, Ambassador of Turkey and H.E. Dr. Elisabeth Kehrer, Ambassador of the Republic of Austria.

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

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

The curriculum vitae of H.E. S. Ugur Ziyal and H.E. Dr. Elisabeth Kehrer follow.

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H.E. Sitki Ugur Ziyal was born in Istanbul in August 1944.

In 1965 he graduated from the Faculty of Political Sciences at the University of Ankara.

The Ambassador started his political career in 1967 when he was appointed Third Secretary at the Department of Cyprus in Greece. He worked in the military service in 1969. He held various high ranking positions within the diplomatic sphere such as Consul at the Turkish Consulate General in Geneva (1973), Chief of Cabinet of the Secretary General of the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs (1976), First Secretary and Counsellor at the Turkish Embassy in Washington (1980), Chief of Department at the Department of Aviation and Maritime Affairs (1988) and Deputy Director General at the Directorate General for Multilateral Political Affairs.

President Fenech Adami and Ambassador Ugur Ziyal

In 1997 he served as Ambassador of Turkey in Damascus and other postings as Ambassador followed namely Ambassador, Advisory to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1998, Ambassador, Deputy Undersecretary for Political Affairs in 2001 and Ambassador, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2004.  Last year he was appointed as Ambassador of Turkey in Rome.

The Ambassador speaks Turkish and English. He is married with one daughter.

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H.E. Dr. Elisabeth Kehrer was born on the 15^th February, 1961.

In 1984 she obtained her “Doctor of Laws” degree from the University of Vienna. Between 1984 and 1985, she completed her postgraduate studies in comparative constitutional law, University of Paris II, France where she obtained her “Diplome Superieur”.

Her professional career commenced in 1983 when she worked as tutor and assistant Professor at the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law, University of Vienna. In 1988 she entered into the Austrian Diplomatic Service. In 1988 she worked for a year at the International Law Department of the Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs. As from 1990 to 1994 she was posted as First Secretary /Counsellor at the Austrian Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York and this was followed by a period of three years as Counsellor at the Austrian Embassy in Dublin.

President Fenech Adami and Ambassador Kehrer

Since 1997 up to year 2001 she worked at the Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Department for Security Policy, CFSP Affairs and Foreign Affairs Planning, Head of Desk for Foreign Policy Coordination Tasks and worked also as a European Correspondent.

In May 2001 she was appointed Consul General of Austria in Chicago.

Dr. Elisabeth Kehrer is single.