H.E. Leslie B. Gatan, Philippine Ambassador to Canada is expected to make his first formal visit to Winnipeg on Monday, May 21st for a three-day visit to Manitoba. While in Manitoba, he will meet with Filipino community during a potluck dinner and forum at the Philippine-Canadian Centre of Manitoba at 6:00pm on May 21. Courtesy calls on Premier Greg Selinger, Lieutenant Governor Philip Lee and meetings with community leaders are also planned for the Ambassador’s visit.
A bit more about our new Ambassador
Mr. Gatan is a career foreign service officer. He joined the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines on 1 March 1983 and currently holds the highest ambassadorial rank of Chief of Mission Class I.
As a career diplomat, he had served as Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York; Minister at the Philippine Embassy in Brussels; Minister, Consul General and Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN-ESCAP at the Philippine Embassy in Bangkok; Consul at the Philippine Consulate General in Milan; First Secretary and Consul at the Philippine Mission to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva; and Third Secretary and Vice Consul and Representative to the Colombo Plan Council in Colombo.
He holds a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of the Philippines, and Bachelor’s degrees major in Business Management from the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila and in Political Science from the OrtanezUniversity. He had likewise earned units in law and Masters in Business Administration. He had special trainings on security studies from the Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu, international economics from UNITAR in Geneva, international trade from EROPA in Berlin, export promotion from the EEC in Dublin, and international relations from the Bandaranaike Center for International Studies in Colombo.
