New High Commissioner of Australia accredited to the Kingdom of Tonga, HE Mr Brett Aldam has presented his letter of credence to His Majesty King Tupou VI at a ceremony held at the Royal Palace in Nuku’alofa.
Foreign Minister Bob Carr announced in January 10th that Mr Aldam will commence on the new post this month.
In his announcement he said that, Mr Aldam is a career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and was until June 2012 Australian High Commissioner to the Republic of Kiribati.
He has previously served as Deputy Head of Mission at the Australian High Commission in Nairobi and as Third Secretary at the Australian High Commission in Suva.
Mr Aldam holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from the University of Adelaide, a Master of Arts from the Northern Territory University and a Master of Foreign Affairs and Trade from Monash University.
The role is important because there is a high proportion of Australian aid that is provided directly to the Government of Tonga to support the performance of the public sector to deliver services such as health, education, technical and vocational education and training.
Mr Aldam replaced Mr. Thomas Roth.
Bob Carr’s photo by http://econews.com.au
