The Chargé d’Affaires of Japan bids farewell
Wednesday, March 9, 2022 ,
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Mrs. Bessy Banane
Mrs. Banane was born in Seychelles on 22 July 1975.
She holds a Diploma in Business Studies & Accounting and BA in Commerce.
Mrs. Banane joined the world of work in 1996 and has over 26 years of experience in the finance and accounting field.
Over the years, she has acquired skills and knowledge through various training programmes and workshops in Management and Leadership, Anti-Money Laundering, International Financial Reporting Standards, Public Assets & Inventory Management, Manpower Budgeting Exercise, among other, locally and internationally.
Mrs. Banane has held key finance related positions at various public and private organisations, namely, the Ministry of Home Affairs, Seychelles Revenue Commission, Seychelles Tourism Board, now merged with the Tourism Department, office of the Auditor General and Village Management Association (VMA) Eden Island.
She also has a few years of work experience in external auditing as well. She has held the Finance Manager/Financial Controller position since 2010 and joined the Foreign Affairs Department in February 2020.
Mr. Tirant was born on 23 April 1977 in Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles.
He attended the National Youth Service and Seychelles Polytechnic between 1994 and 1997 where he obtained his O levels and A levels from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. Mr Tirant spent six years in France, three years in La Reunion and another three years in Bayonne, where he graduated with a Canonical Bachelor Degree in Theology from the Institut Catholique de Toulouse, France. In May 2009, he attended the Offshore Course Level 1 at the Seychelles Institute of Management. In 2009, he received a Professional Certificate in Insurance (CII). In January 2017, he obtained a Postgraduate Certificate in Business Law with Merit from De Montfort University – Leicester (UK) (Business Law, Competition Law and Consumer Law).
Mr Tirant started his career at the Holy Family, Pau, France as a Deacon in 2004. From July 2005 to October 2008, he was the Parish Priest at the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception, Seychelles. In October 2008, Mr Tirant joined the Central Bank of Seychelles as an Insurance Officer. After one year in post, he was promoted to Director of Insurance Supervision. He then joined the Fair Trading Commission in January 2011, holding the post of Director of Consumer Affairs. A post which he held for two years until his promotion as Chief Executive Officer of the Fair Trading Commission. From 2014 to 2017, he worked part-time as Commissioner for the COMESA Competition Commission. In 2017 he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Public Enterprise Monitoring Commission, a post which he held until 2022.
Mr Tirant was appointed as Ambassador on 12 December 2022.
He enjoys gardening and cooking. He also has a passion for carrying out research on better administration of law for a better social justice
Mr. Racombo was born on the 3 January 1977 in Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles.
He attended Seychelles Polytechnic between 1994 and 1996 where he obtained his O levels and A levels from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. He spent four years in Mauritius where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Réduit in 2002. He holds two Master’s degrees, one in Strategic Management from the Institute of Public Administration, National University of Ireland in 2009, and another in Diplomatic Studies from the University of Pretoria, South Africa in 2014.
He started his career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1997 in the International Cooperation and Regional Integration division as an Economist. In June 2008, he was posted to the Seychelles High Commission in Pretoria for three years. Upon his return to Seychelles in 2011, he was promoted to Director in the Development and Regional Integration division of the same ministry. One year into the post, he was promoted to Director General, a post he held for five years. In May 2017, he worked for the SADC Regional Tourism Organization of Southern Africa in South Africa, heading the Resource Mobilization and Development, and soon became the acting Chief Executive Officer of the latter. In 2019, he was appointed as Principal Secretary of the Department of Blue Economy. A post that he held until he was appointed Ambassador on 12 December 2022.
He is interested in international politics, economic diplomacy and volleyball.
Mr. Pillay was born on 7 March 1963 in Seychelles.
He attended the Berlin University of Economical Sciences in 1991, where he was awarded a Master of Science (MSc) in Political Economics. He also has a Certificate and Advanced Certificate in German Language.
He started his career in December 1991 as an Economic Cooperation Officer at the then Ministry of External Relations. Between 1991 and 2003 he occupied various junior positions and served as the Acting Director of the International Relations division for six months until he was confirmed in that post on 15 December of that same year. On 15 March 2007 he was promoted to the post of Director General of the Multilateral Affairs division, a position he held until 14 February 2010. In addition to his responsibilities as Director General, in 2010, he was responsible for the Legal Affairs and Research section.
In February 2010 he was posted to the Seychelles Mission to the United Nations (SMOM) in New York as Principal Counsellor and Deputy Permanent Representative. Three years later, he was recalled and assigned new responsibilities in the Office of the Principal Secretary.
On 1 October 2014, he was appointed Ambassador based at headquarters until January 2015 when he was posted to Brussels. He was accredited to the Kingdom of Belgium and to the EU, from March 2015 to January 2018; and to Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, the Swiss Confederation, the Vatican, Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St John’s of Jerusalem of Rhodes and Malta, and to the World Trade Organisation United Nations Office in Geneva as Permanent Representative on a non-resident basis.
Upon completion of his tour of duty in Brussels he was posted to New Delhi, India where he was accredited on a resident basis on 13 March 2019, and on a non-resident basis to the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and Nepal. He ended his tenure in New Delhi in December 2022.
Ambassador Pillay is currently based at headquarters with new responsibilities. He is married and has two children.
He is also fluent in English, French, Creole and German and he enjoys reading, nature, art and music.
Mrs. Johnette Stephen
Assists the Director General of Bilateral Affairs with administrative duties and the overall organisation of the work of the Division. In addition, she provides technical support in the drafting of key documents such as speeches, policy papers, position papers, cabinet papers, official statements amongst others matters concerned with the Division as well as the Foreign Affairs Department. She’s also responsible for giving advise on geo-political issues and analysis of international relations. She co-ordinates with the Seychelles overseas mission when necessary.
Mr. Ralph Agrippine
Mr. Agrippine holds the post of Permanent Liaison Officer for the Indian Ocean Commission. He is also the National Correspondent of Seychelles for the International Organisations of the Francophonie.
Dr. Jemma Simeon
Responsible for reviewing diplomatic correspondences and guidelines, providing political analysis, compiling reports, ensuring proper reporting by diplomatic missions, ensuring that reports from diplomatic missions are properly acted upon by relevant offices both internally and externally in Seychelles, monitoring and evaluating policies and programmes for improvement, and conducting research and analysis on issues related to Foreign Affairs and international relations.
Ms. Sandra Michel
Ms. Michel is a Seychellois citizen, born in Havana, Cuba.
Ms. Michel holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law from the University of Havana, Cuba. She also has Diplomas in English, Spanish, and French.
She began her career as a Lawyer, practicing in a legal office in the Republic of Cuba from 1991 until 1994. In 2000, she worked as the Private Secretary at OPAGAC (Organización de Productores Asociados de Grandes Atuneros Congeladores) in Seychelles. She joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on a part-time basis as a Research Officer on 3 February 2003.
Ms. Michel was employed on a full-time basis as a Second Secretary (Legal Officer) in the Legal Affairs and Research Section on 1 January 2004 and she held the position until July 2011 when she was appointed as Director of the Treaties Section, Foreign Affairs Department on 1 August 2018.
Ms. Michel is a former member of the Revenue Tribunal. She is presently the Legal Adviser of the Foreign Affairs Department and she was formally appointed to this post on 1 November 2017.
Ms. Michel is interested in the arts in general, for example, painting, literature and music. She enjoys poetry, gardening and dancing and finds Asian culture very interesting.
Mr. Terence Malbrook
Mr. Malbrook was born on 11th January 1969 in Seychelles.
He is competent in Business Studies and Accounting at Seychelles Polytechnic. He also holds a Certificate in Business Studies and French from the Seychelles Institute of Management. He has a Master of Science in Project Management from the University of Roehampton England. During his career, he has attended a lot of professional training both locally and internationally.
Mr Malbrook has held various posts within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He started his career at the Ministry as the System Support Manager, a post he occupied for 6 years. He became the Personal Assistant to the Minister of Foreign Affairs for two years. In April 2010, he was assigned the responsibility of the Project Coordinator in the Principal Secretary Secretariat. He held that position for 12 years until his recent appointment as the Director of Development Aid in June 2022.
He was appointed Director of Development Aid in the Principal Secretary Secretariat in June 2022.
Mr Malbrook enjoys cooking, watching world Affairs, Exercising and keeping fit, Experimenting with computers and listening to music.
Mr. Christian Faure
Mr. Faure was born on 21 February 1984, in Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles.
He studied Social and Political Science at the University of Mauritius, where he received his first degree. Later, Mr. Faure graduated from the University of Malta with a Master of Arts in Contemporary Diplomacy.
Mr. Faure has been with the Department of Foreign Affairs throughout his career. He started as a Third Secretary in the Multilateral Affairs Division on 15 February 2008, and then moved to the International Relations Division (when the Bilateral Affairs and Multilateral Affairs Divisions were merged).
He was posted to the Seychelles Embassy in Beijing, China, as a Second Secretary on 1 April 2012 and was recalled to Headquarters and promoted to the post of First Secretary in the Bilateral Affairs Division.
Mr. Faure became the Director of Consular Affairs on 1 September 2017 before being posted a second time to the Seychelles High Commission in Pretoria, South Africa, as a Senior Counsellor on 1 July 2019. Upon his return to Seychelles, he took up the post of Director of Regional Affairs on 1 June 2021 and was promoted to Director General on the 1 February 2023, In total, he has been in the Seychelles Foreign Service for approximately 16 years.
His interests are in following current international political trends. He is particularly fond of election processes and the evolution of democracy and governance matters. Mr Faure is closely following the geopolitical developments in the Indian Ocean and also in the Indo-Pacific region. Linked to those are peace and security developments in the region and on the African continent which, although fall under the ambit of his professional duties, are also of personal interest to him.
Mr. Gervais Moumou
Mr. Moumou was born on 29 September 1982 in Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles.
He graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education and Sports from the Escuela de Educación Física y Deporte in Havana, Cuba, in 2008. In 2019, he obtained a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Leicester, United Kingdom. He also has a Diploma in Diplomacy, which he obtained from the Diplomatic Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Portugal.
On 1 October, 2009, he began his diplomatic career as a Protocol Officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was a fast learner who quickly grasped the knowledge and skills required for the job. On 1 October, 2011, he was promoted to Chief of Presidential Protocol. His responsibilities involved coordinating the official engagements of the President of the Republic and making protocol arrangements for events hosted at State House. He remained in the position for five years. From 1 January 2017 to 31 July 2019 he provided protocol support to the Office of Former President James Alix Michel in the capacity of Personal Assistant to the Former President until he returned to the Foreign Affairs Department to assume the position of Director of Protocol.
On 1 March 2021, he was promoted to the position of Chief of Protocol with additional responsibility for Public Diplomacy, a unit dedicated to promote Seychelles’ Foreign Policy and increase the Department’s and the country’s visibility locally and internationally.
Mr. Moumou speaks English, French, and Spanish well, and understands Portuguese to a reasonable extent. He is interested in music of all genres and cultures.
Mr. Moumou was born on 29 September 1982 in Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles.
He graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education and Sports from the Escuela de Educación Física y Deporte in Havana, Cuba, in 2008. In 2019, he obtained a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Leicester, United Kingdom. He also has a Diploma in Diplomacy, which he obtained from the Diplomatic Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Portugal.
On 1 October, 2009, he began his diplomatic career as a Protocol Officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was a fast learner who quickly grasped the knowledge and skills required for the job. On 1 October, 2011, he was promoted to Chief of Presidential Protocol. His responsibilities involved coordinating the official engagements of the President of the Republic and making protocol arrangements for events hosted at State House. He remained in the position for five years. From 1 January 2017 to 31 July 2019 he provided protocol support to the Office of Former President James Alix Michel in the capacity of Personal Assistant to the Former President until he returned to the Foreign Affairs Department to assume the position of Director of Protocol.
On 1 March 2021, he was promoted to the position of Chief of Protocol with additional responsibility for Public Diplomacy, a unit dedicated to promote Seychelles’ Foreign Policy and increase the Department’s and the country’s visibility locally and internationally.
Mr. Moumou speaks English, French, and Spanish well, and understands Portuguese to a reasonable extent. He is interested in music of all genres and cultures.
Mr. Moumou was appointed as Ambassador on 12 December 2022.
Ms. Myra Laporte
Assists to coordinate Seychelles Foreign Policy with organizations such as the United Nations and its agencies, the Commonwealth, European Union etc. Alongside the Director General, they are responsible for the allocation and delegation of work to diplomatic officers, where this involves relations with multilateral organisations and adherence to treaties and conventions. In keeping abreast with the current affairs, the Director provides advice/recommendations based on events of political, social and economic significance on policies related to Seychelles’ Multilateral relations. They are equally responsible for identifying new areas of co-operation that Seychelles could pursue with multilateral partners.
Ms. Amenda Padayachy
Amenda Padayachy was born on 5 July 1985 in Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles.
In 2007, Ms Padayachy pursued her Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Social Sciences (Sociology) at Manchester University, United Kingdom. She studied International Business Management at Manchester Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom from 2012 to 2013. Ms. Padayachy is also trained in negotiation skills.
She began her career with the Ministry of Finance in 2006 at the Policy and Strategy Division as an Assistant Policy Analyst.
She was promoted to Acting Director General for the Policy and Strategy Division in November 2016, and was transferred to the Foreign Affairs Department as Director General for International Cooperation and Regional Integration on 1 November 2017. On 1 July 2021, she became the Director General for the Multilateral Affairs Division.
During her spare time, she likes baking and cooking. She also enjoys watching movies and real-life documentaries.
Pamela Payet
Ms. Payet was born on 29 October 1979 in Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles.
Ms. Payet obtained her Bachelor and Master Degrees in Business Administration at Coventry University in 2003 and Cardiff University in 2004 in the United Kingdom.
She started her career as an Administration Manager in the private sector on 25 October 2004, where she rose through the ranks to General Manager. She remained in that position until 14 September 2006, when she decided to leave the private sector to pursue a career in Seychelles’ Public Service
She joined the Information Bureau of the Ministry of Finance on 19 September 2006 as a Director, a position that she later left to occupy a position in her field of specialization, Director of Administration and Finance at the Department of Police. On 7 April 2010, she was transferred to the Ministry of Land Use and Housing as Director of Human Resources until she resigned on 19 September 2010 to join the Seychelles Revenue Commission as Director of Human Resources. On 1 January 2011, she was appointed as Director General of Administration and Finance in the Office of the President, a position she held until February 2015 when she was promoted to Acting Principal Secretary of the President’s Office Administration. In August 2019, Ms. Payet joined the Foreign Affairs Department as the Technical Adviser to the Secretary of State. On 16 November 2020, she was transferred to the Ministry of Finance, National Planning, and Trade as Director General of Human Resources, Budget Management, and Administration.
She assumed the position of Director General of Human Resources, Budget Management, and Administration at the Foreign Affairs Department on 16 November 2021.
Ms. Payet loves reading, travelling, and dancing.
Ms. Shirley Low-Meng
The principal Liaison Officer for all Consular and Diaspora affairs. Also responsible to provide advice and assistance in response to general enquiries from MDAs and the general public along with providing support and guidance to the staff of the Division.
Ms. Lindy Ernesta
Ms. Ernesta was born in Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles.
She attended Exeter University in the United Kingdom, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in History with Development Studies. She studied for a Post Graduate Certificate in Secondary Education at the National Institute of Education (NIE) in Seychelles between 2000 and 2001. She completed her first Master’s Degree in Distance Education at the Indira Gandhi National Open University from 2002 to 2004.
In 2007, Ms. Ernesta completed her second Master’s Degree in International Politics with International Relations at Manchester University in the United Kingdom.
Ms. Ernesta started her career in 1997 as a senior lecturer in History at the School of Advanced Level Studies, and in the evenings, she taught History to adult learners at the Adult Learner and Distance Education Centre (ALDEC) at the Ministry of Education. She relocated to Montreal, Canada in 2009, where she worked in the sales and marketing sector, before moving back to Seychelles in 2010 to take up employment as a part-time lecturer in International Relations, International Politics, and Modern History at the University of Seychelles. During the same period, she joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a First Secretary. Ms. Ernesta held that post until 2015, when she was appointed to the post of Acting Director General in the International Relations Division.
She was appointed Director General of the Bilateral Affairs Division in 2016.
Ms. Ernesta likes to keep abreast of international and current affairs. She enjoys literature and watching football.
Ms. Myrna Hoareau
Ms. Hoareau was born in Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles on 27 March 1970.
In 1988, Ms. Hoareau pursued a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with minors in Biology and Chemistry. From 1994 to 1995, she undertook a Graduate Diploma course in Multilateral Diplomacy at the Institut Universitaire de Hautes Etudes Internationales (IUHEI), in Geneva, Switzerland.
Ms. Hoareau began her career with the Ministry of Education as a social worker from 1992 to 1993, after which she joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a Second Secretary in the Multilateral Affairs Division until 1995. She then moved to the United Kingdom where she worked as a Public Relations Officer. Upon her return to Seychelles, she joined the Ministry of Finance as the Director of Investment from 1998 to 2000.
After working in the private sector, Ms. Hoareau returned to the Ministry of Finance in 2005, where she occupied the post of Director of the Seychelles Business Advisory Centre – Asia. She joined the Foreign Affairs Department on 11 September 2018 as Principal Counsellor to head the Public Diplomacy Unit. In March 2021, she was transferred to the Bilateral Affairs Division, and on 13 July 2022 promoted to the post of Director General for the Consular and Diaspora Affairs Division.
Ms. Hoareau enjoys reading and is also a cooking enthusiast.
Vivianne Fock Tave
Ambassador Vivianne Fock Tave was appointed Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs on 1st May 2021.
She studied economics in Berlin, Germany, and joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Economic Planning and Environment in July 1996 as an Economist in the Division of Economic Planning.
She held various positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs until she was appointed Principal Secretary for Economic Planning in the Ministry of Economic Planning and Employment in February 2005.
From August 2006 to February 2007, she held the post of Principal Secretary for International Cooperation in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. In March 2007 she was appointed Special Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation until her appointment as Ambassador in September 2009.
She was accredited as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Belgium and the European Union on 3 rd March 2010 – 17th December 2014 and 20th April 2010 – 17th December 2014 respectively. Between March 2010 and December 2014, Ambassador Fock Tave was also accredited to certain Member States of the European Union, the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva, the Swiss Confederation, the Holy See, and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
From 19th August 2015 to 7th April 2021, Ambassador Fock Tave was Head of Mission in the Seychelles Embassy in Beijing, People’s Republic of China. She was also accredited to the Republic of Korea and Japan from 15th January 2016 to 7th April 2021 and 5th July 2018 to 7th April 2021 respectively with residence in Beijing.
Ms. Samson was on 22 June 1971, Victoria, Mahe
She graduated from the Murdoch University (Economics and Business Studies), Perth, Western Australia in 1997 where she obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Economics (BSc) – Economics.
Following her graduation, she attended short courses in various fields such as Environmental Economics, Public Economics, Information Technology, Cross Cultural Phycology, Accounting and Marketing, Diplomacy, Trade Negotiations, Economic Planning and Management.
She started her career as an Economist with the Ministry of External Relations on 19 April 1999. She was promoted to the position of Senior Economist on 1 June 2001 and remained in that position until 17 January 2007. From then, she became Director of Economic Planning and later Director of International Cooperation until she assumed the position of Director General of the Department of Development and Regional Integration on 15 September 2008. On 20 June 2011 she was posted to the Embassy of Seychelles to the Kingdom of Belgium in the position of Minister Counsellor. On 15 August she returned to headquarters to take up the position of Principal Counsellor in the Office of the Principal Secretary and Advisor to the Department of Development and Regional Integration and Deputy to the National Authorizing Officer to the European Union (EU).
She was appointed Ambassador on 9 August 2016.
Following her appointment, she was posted to New York and assumed the position of Deputy Permanent Representative – Permanent Mission of the Republic of Seychelles to the United Nations. She was accredited as Ambassador of the Republic of Seychelles to the Kingdom of Belgium on 26 May 2018.
Ambassador Samson enjoys reading, sports, travel, arts and fashion, music, and she loves nature.
Mrs. Accouche was born on 23 December 1964.
Accouche’ s career in the Seychelles diplomatic service spans over 30 years. It started in June 1991 after she completed her studies in the field of Social Sciences in Cuba and joined the Seychelles Foreign Ministry as Economic Cooperation Officer, being responsible for various bilateral dossiers. She also followed diplomatic training in various countries such as Spain, Mexico, Egypt, South Africa and China.
In January 2010, after having occupied different posts which allowed her to look after most of the bilateral and multilateral dossiers of the Ministry, she was appointed Diplomatic Attaché heading the then newly established unit within the Principal Secretary Secretariat, with the responsibilities of ensuring a productive interaction between the headquarters and all Seychelles Diplomatic Missions abroad, and also coordinating the activities of about eighty Honorary Consuls who were representing Seychelles all over the world at that time. From September 2013 to August 2017, she was posted to the Seychelles High Commission in London, United Kingdom, in the capacity of Deputy Head of Mission/Principal Counsellor. During her posting, she was also acting as Seychelles Assistant Permanent Representative to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). On her return from London, she was deployed, in October 2017, to the then newly opened Seychelles Embassy in Havana, Cuba, where she served as Deputy Head of Mission/Principal Counsellor for a period of three months before taking over the full command of the Mission as Chargé d’ Affairs a.i.
In May 2019, she was appointed Ambassador.
Following her appointment, she was accredited as the second resident Ambassador of Seychelles to the Republic of Cuba. She was also concurrently accredited to Jamaica, Mexico and Nicaragua among the 30 countries of the Latin America and Caribbean regions and regional organisations falling under Havana jurisdiction.
After the closure of the Seychelles Embassy in Havana as result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ambassador Accouche was based at headquarters and assigned specific duties. She will take up her new responsibilities as Seychelles High Commissioner to the Republic of India following her accreditation to the Head of State.
She is fluent in five languages. She enjoys reading, gardening, and travelling.
Mr. Madeleine was born on 15 April 1985 in Victoria, Seychelles.
In 2008 he attended Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia, where he later graduated with a Bachelor in Secondary Education (Social Science) in 2009. In 2013 Mr. Madeleine pursued an International Master of Public Administration with the Tsinghua University in Beijing, focusing on foreign policy.
He began his professional career in the Ministry of Education as a teacher in 2007 after completing his Diploma in Secondary Education, with specialization in Social Science. After graduating he returned to the teaching profession until he transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2011 as a Third Secretary in the Consular Affairs Section of the Protocol, Treaties and Consular Affairs Division. In that capacity, he managed the consular services of the Ministry including the appointment of Honorary Consuls.
After obtaining his Master’s degree, he was promoted to Second Secretary in the International Relations Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was assigned the Western Europe desk. From 2015 to 2017 he served at the Embassy of Seychelles in Paris, France, as a Second Secretary and assisted the serving Ambassador with Seychelles’ representation to those countries and international organizations under the mission’s jurisdiction, including UNESCO, OIF, OECD, IAEA, FAO. He also served as Charge d’Affaires a.i. at the Embassy in 2017. Mr. Madeleine returned to Seychelles in 2017 after having been promoted to Director of Protocol, and becoming responsible for State Protocol. In 2019 he was appointed as Director for Maritime Affairs, and was tasked with setting up a newly created section within the Ministry, mandated to develop cooperation in the maritime domain and consolidating Seychelles’ leadership role in maritime security. In 2021 he assumed the position of Director for Regional Affairs, overseeing the Regional Security and Maritime Affairs section.
He was appointed as Ambassador on 17 June 2021. He is currently accredited to the United States of America and the United Nations as Seychelles Permanent Representative.
Mrs. Lafortune was born on 8 April 1961 in Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia.
She completed her studies at the University of Edith Cowan in Australia and Bristol University in the UK.
She started her career in education. She was formally the Director of the Seychelles Polytechnic and later took the position of Director General for Technical and Further Education of the Ministry of Education. She became the Principal Secretary for Health and Social Development in 2007. She has also occupied the position of Chief Executive Officer of the Seychelles Institute of Management and the Chief Executive Officer of the Public Officers’ Ethics Commission.
In 2013 she was appointed as the Principal Secretary for Tourism in the then Ministry of Tourism and Culture, a position that she maintained until her recent appointment as Ambassador. She has participated actively in a number of tourism-related conferences, meetings and workshops both regionally and internationally including the Global Conference on Sustainable Blue Economy and the International Island Tourism Conference (ITTCS). She was the focal point for two major international tourism organisations namely, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) where she represented her country. She was also a member of the SADC Senior Officials Committee responsible for tourism and the Indian Ocean Vanilla Islands Tourism Association.
On the local front, Mrs. Lafortune participated on a number of Government boards including Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority, Seychelles Investment Board, Seychelles Licensing Authority and Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation.
She was appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Seychelles on 17 June 2021. She is currently based in Beijing, China.
Johnette Stephen
Principal Counsellor
Gervais Moumou was born on 29 September 1982 in Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles.
Mr. Moumou graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education and Sports from the Escuela de Educación Física y Deporte in Havana, Cuba, in 2008. In 2019, he obtained a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Leicester, United Kingdom. He also has a Diploma in Diplomacy, which he obtained from the Diplomatic Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Portugal.
On 1 October, 2009, he began his diplomatic career as a Protocol Officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was a fast learner who quickly grasped the knowledge and skills required for the job. On 1 October, 2011, he was promoted to Chief of Presidential Protocol. His responsibilities involved coordinating the official engagements of the President of the Republic and making protocol arrangements for events hosted at State House. He remained in the position for five years. From 1 January 2017 to 31 July 2019 he provided protocol support to the Office of Former President James Alix Michel in the capacity of Personal Assistant to the Former President until he returned to the Foreign Affairs Department to assume the position of Director of Protocol.
On 1 March 2021, he was promoted to the position of Chief of Protocol with additional responsibility for Public Diplomacy, a unit dedicated to promote Seychelles’ Foreign Policy and increase the Department’s and the country’s visibility locally and internationally.
Mr. Moumou speaks English, French, and Spanish well, and understands Portuguese to a reasonable extent. He is interested in music of all genres and cultures.
Gervais Moumou
Chief of Protocol
Gervais Moumou was born on 29 September 1982 in Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles.
Mr. Moumou graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education and Sports from the Escuela de Educación Física y Deporte in Havana, Cuba, in 2008. In 2019, he obtained a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Leicester, United Kingdom. He also has a Diploma in Diplomacy, which he obtained from the Diplomatic Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Portugal.
On 1 October, 2009, he began his diplomatic career as a Protocol Officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was a fast learner who quickly grasped the knowledge and skills required for the job. On 1 October, 2011, he was promoted to Chief of Presidential Protocol. His responsibilities involved coordinating the official engagements of the President of the Republic and making protocol arrangements for events hosted at State House. He remained in the position for five years. From 1 January 2017 to 31 July 2019 he provided protocol support to the Office of Former President James Alix Michel in the capacity of Personal Assistant to the Former President until he returned to the Foreign Affairs Department to assume the position of Director of Protocol.
On 1 March 2021, he was promoted to the position of Chief of Protocol with additional responsibility for Public Diplomacy, a unit dedicated to promote Seychelles’ Foreign Policy and increase the Department’s and the country’s visibility locally and internationally.
Mr. Moumou speaks English, French, and Spanish well, and understands Portuguese to a reasonable extent. He is interested in music of all genres and cultures.
Ambassador of Seychelles to the United States of America and Permanent Representative of Seychelles to the United Nations
Mr. Madeleine was born on 15 April 1985 in Victoria, Seychelles.
In 2008 he attended Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia, where he later graduated with a Bachelor in Secondary Education (Social Science) in 2009. In 2013 Mr. Madeleine pursued an International Master of Public Administration with the Tsinghua University in Beijing, focusing on foreign policy.
He began his professional career in the Ministry of Education as a teacher in 2007 after completing his Diploma in Secondary Education, with specialization in Social Science. After graduating he returned to the teaching profession until he transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2011 as a Third Secretary in the Consular Affairs Section of the Protocol, Treaties and Consular Affairs Division. In that capacity, he managed the consular services of the Ministry including the appointment of Honorary Consuls.
After obtaining his Master’s degree, he was promoted to Second Secretary in the International Relations Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was assigned the Western Europe desk. From 2015 to 2017 he served at the Embassy of Seychelles in Paris, France, as a Second Secretary and assisted the serving Ambassador with Seychelles’ representation to those countries and international organizations under the mission’s jurisdiction, including UNESCO, OIF, OECD, IAEA, FAO. He also served as Charge d’Affaires a.i. at the Embassy in 2017. Mr. Madeleine returned to Seychelles in 2017 after having been promoted to Director of Protocol, and becoming responsible for State Protocol. In 2019 he was appointed as Director for Maritime Affairs, and was tasked with setting up a newly created section within the Ministry, mandated to develop cooperation in the maritime domain and consolidating Seychelles’ leadership role in maritime security. In 2021 he assumed the position of Director for Regional Affairs, overseeing the Regional Security and Maritime Affairs section.
He was appointed as Ambassador on 17 June 2021. He is currently accredited to the United States of America and the United Nations as Seychelles Permanent Representative.
He is married and has two children.
Mr. Mederic was born on 24 April 1966, in Victoria, Seychelles.
He graduated from the University of New Delhi, India in 1991 where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.
His professional life commenced at the Ministry of External Relations, Republic of Seychelles as a Trainee Third Secretary which was then followed by an 8-year stint, until 2007, as First Secretary with responsibility for South Asia, South- East Asia, G-77, NAM and with sectoral responsibilities for Trade, Industries and Investment. From there onwards, he served as Director General for Bilateral Affairs under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a period of two years, taking over duties as Director General for Protocol, Treaties and Consular Affairs from 2009 until 2011.
Mr. Mederic was also a member of the board of the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA), and briefly occupied the post of Interim Chairman from March to August 2011.
In July 2011, he was posted to the High Commission of Seychelles in Pretoria, South Africa as Principal Counsellor. In 2014 he was mandated to establish the first Seychelles High Commission in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
He was appointed Ambassador in December 2016. Following this appointment, he was posted to Colombo, Sri Lanka and was accredited on 28 June 2017. He ended his tour of duty in Sri Lanka in January 2021 and was assigned responsibilities at headquarters until his posting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 30 October 2021. He was accredited as Ambassador of Seychelles to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. He was also accredited to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) on 6 May 2022 and the African Union Commission (AUC) on 20 May 2022
His hobbies include exploring foreign cultures, following international events, and he is also an avid reader.
A family man at heart, Mr. Mederic is the father of three children and currently resides in Seychelles.
Mr. Morel was born on 25 September 1956 in Seychelles.
He attended the University of Lille, France in 1976 to 1980 and was awarded Diplôme Supérieur d’Etudes Françaises and Diplôme d’Etudes Universitaires Générales in Literature and History.
He started his career in diplomacy in 1981 and occupied a number of positions as a junior officer until 1990. During that same period, he attended short courses in diplomatic relations in various countries. In August 1993 he was promoted to Director General, a position in which he remained until May 1996 when he was appointed Ambassador.
Following his appointment, he was posted within the Seychelles Mission where he served as Chargé d’Affaires a.i to the United Nations (SMUN), the United States of America and Canada. In January 1997, he was posted to Brussels as Ambassador to the European Communities, Germany and the Benelux countries until February 1998. In March of the same year, he returned to New York but this time as Seychelles’ Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Ambassador to the United States of America, Canada and Cuba. In 1999, he served as Vice President of the 54th Session of the United Nations General Assembly until September 2000.
He was recalled and appointed Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in March 2005, a position he held until July 2007. In August of that year he was posted to Paris where he served as Seychelles’ Ambassador to the French Republic, Permanent Representative to l’Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), and to United Nations, Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). He was also accredited as Seychelles’ Non-resident High Commissioner to the United Kingdom until January 2010. From April 2008 to July 2012, he was concurrently accredited as a Non-resident Ambassador to Andorra, Italy, Monaco, Morocco, Portugal, Russian Federation, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey.
Upon completion of his tour of duty in Paris, he was posted to Pretoria, South Africa from September 2012 to December 2016. During that period, he was also accredited to Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe and to international organisations falling under that jurisdiction, such as the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) as Seychelles’ Permanent Representative on non-resident basis.
From March 2013 to January 2014 he was seconded to Madagascar by the Seychelles Government as Director of the Liaison Office of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC). He was decorated as Knight of the Order of Merit by the Government of Madagascar in January 2014.
In March 2017 he assumed new responsibilities as Foreign Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs. He held this position until he retired in December 2020. Two years later he decided to return to diplomacy. He resumed his ambassadorial duties and was accredited to the Republic of South Africa on 1 July 2021 to date.
Ambassador Morel is currently the longest serving Seychelles Ambassador. He is married and has two children.
Gervais Moumou
Chief of Protocol
Gervais Moumou was born on 29 September 1982 in Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles.
Mr. Moumou graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education and Sports from the Escuela de Educación Física y Deporte in Havana, Cuba, in 2008. In 2019, he obtained a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Leicester, United Kingdom. He also has a Diploma in Diplomacy, which he obtained from the Diplomatic Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Portugal.
On 1 October, 2009, he began his diplomatic career as a Protocol Officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was a fast learner who quickly grasped the knowledge and skills required for the job. On 1 October, 2011, he was promoted to Chief of Presidential Protocol. His responsibilities involved coordinating the official engagements of the President of the Republic and making protocol arrangements for events hosted at State House. He remained in the position for five years. From 1 January 2017 to 31 July 2019 he provided protocol support to the Office of Former President James Alix Michel in the capacity of Personal Assistant to the Former President until he returned to the Foreign Affairs Department to assume the position of Director of Protocol.
On 1 March 2021, he was promoted to the position of Chief of Protocol with additional responsibility for Public Diplomacy, a unit dedicated to promote Seychelles’ Foreign Policy and increase the Department’s and the country’s visibility locally and internationally.
Mr. Moumou speaks English, French, and Spanish well, and understands Portuguese to a reasonable extent. He is interested in music of all genres and cultures.
Gervais Moumou
Chief of Protocol
Gervais Moumou was born on 29 September 1982 in Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles.
Mr. Moumou graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education and Sports from the Escuela de Educación Física y Deporte in Havana, Cuba, in 2008. In 2019, he obtained a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Leicester, United Kingdom. He also has a Diploma in Diplomacy, which he obtained from the Diplomatic Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Portugal.
On 1 October, 2009, he began his diplomatic career as a Protocol Officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was a fast learner who quickly grasped the knowledge and skills required for the job. On 1 October, 2011, he was promoted to Chief of Presidential Protocol. His responsibilities involved coordinating the official engagements of the President of the Republic and making protocol arrangements for events hosted at State House. He remained in the position for five years. From 1 January 2017 to 31 July 2019 he provided protocol support to the Office of Former President James Alix Michel in the capacity of Personal Assistant to the Former President until he returned to the Foreign Affairs Department to assume the position of Director of Protocol.
On 1 March 2021, he was promoted to the position of Chief of Protocol with additional responsibility for Public Diplomacy, a unit dedicated to promote Seychelles’ Foreign Policy and increase the Department’s and the country’s visibility locally and internationally.
Mr. Moumou speaks English, French, and Spanish well, and understands Portuguese to a reasonable extent. He is interested in music of all genres and cultures.
Ag. High Commissioner of Seychelles in the United Kingdom
High Commission of the Republic of Seychelles Ground Floor, 130-132 Buckingham Palace Road London SWlW 9SA, England, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 [O] 20 773 020 46
Email: patsy.moustache@sevchelleshcl.co.uk
Principal Counsellor/Ministre Conseiller
Ambassade des Seychelles
51 Avenue Mozart, 75016, Paris, France
Tel: [+33 1] 42 30 57 47
Email : jbelle@ambsey.fr