On 27 February 2024, the President of Singapore, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, officially received credentials from the newly appointed Heads of Mission from Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, and Slovenia in a series of ceremonies at the Istana.
In a significant diplomatic event held on 27 February 2024, the President of Singapore, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, welcomed the presentation of credentials from three distinguished foreign Heads of Mission at the Istana. These ceremonies underscored the ongoing diplomatic relations and cooperation between Singapore and the respective nations.
The dignitaries presenting their credentials were: His Excellency Delgahadeniya Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Senarath Bandara Dissanayake, the High Commissioner of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka; His Excellency Alexandre Vital da Cruz Araújo Tilman, the Ambassador of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste; and His Excellency Jernej Müller, the Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia. Each of these newly appointed officials brings a wealth of experience and achievements from their previous roles in diplomacy and international relations.
HIS EXCELLENCY Delgahadeniya Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Senarath Bandara Dissanayake
HIGH COMMISSIONER TO SINGAPORE
DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF SRI LANKA
High Commissioner Delgahadeniya Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Senarath Bandara Dissanayake is a career diplomat with 24 years of experience in the Sri Lankan public service.
He has held various appointments in the Sri Lanka Foreign Service including as Chief of Protocol (January 2022 to January 2024); Acting High Commissioner at the Sri Lanka High Commission in Canberra, Australia (January 2020 to December 2021); Deputy High Commissioner at the Sri Lanka High Commission in Canberra, Australia (2019); Minister at the Sri Lanka High Commission in New Delhi, India (May 2014 to July 2016); Deputy Consul-General at the Consulate-General of Sri Lanka in Mumbai, India (August 2013 to April 2014); Charge d’affaires at the Sri Lanka Embassy in the Hague, Netherlands (May 2011 to June 2011); First Secretary at the Sri Lanka Embassy in Brussels, Belgium (June 2008 to June 2009); and Second Secretary at the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka in Geneva, Switzerland (May 2003 to December 2006). He was seconded to the Presidential Secretariat where he served as Director (Foreign Affairs) in 2018.
High Commissioner Dissanayake obtained a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka in 1996, and a postgraduate certificate in European Affairs from the University of Brussels, Belgium in 2008. He is married with two children.
HIS EXCELLENCY Alexandre Vital da Cruz Araújo Tilman
AMBASSADOR TO SINGAPORE
Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste
Prior to his appointment as Ambassador to Singapore, Ambassador Tilman served as Partnership and Development Financing Officer in the United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator’s Office in Timor-Leste.
Ambassador Tilman received a Master in Public Policy in 2011 from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy of Singapore. He also holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Melbourne, Australia, and a Graduate Diploma in Community Development from Victoria University, Australia.
Ambassador Tilman has over 15 years of experience working in development, having held various positions in the Timor-Leste government, the World Bank, and the UN. Ambassador Tilman played a crucial role in the Timor-Leste government’s adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Ambassador Tilman is a founding member of Maluk Timor, a NGO in Timor-Leste which focuses on upgrading and improving healthcare systems.
Ambassador Tilman is married and has three sons, aged 12, 8 and 6.
HIS EXCELLENCY Jernej Müller
AMBASSADOR TO SINGAPORE
Republic of Slovenia
Ambassador Jernej Müller earned his bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the Faculty of Social Science, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia in 2001 as a desk officer in the Department for NATO Affairs.
In 2003, Ambassador Müller joined the Secretariat of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) as a Junior Professional Officer in the Conflict Prevention Centre and the Office of the Secretary General in Vienna, Austria. From 2004 to 2006, he was posted to the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Slovenia to the OSCE in Vienna as Second Secretary. Upon returning to Ljubljana, he was posted to the Department for Eastern Europe and Central Asia in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Counsellor. In 2008, he assumed the position of First Secretary at the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Slovenia to the EU in Brussels, with the Working Party on Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
After returning to Ljubljana in 2008, Ambassador Müller was appointed Head of Division for European Institutions at the Department for EU Affairs. From 2009 to 2020, he was the European Correspondent and from 2015 to 2020, he was also Head of Department for Common Foreign and Security Policy. In 2020, he was appointed Director General and Political Director of Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2022, he was appointed as Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to the Republic of Korea.
