
Ali Al-Khairalla
President
Third Secretary / Alternate Permenant Represenative to the IMO
Embassy of the Republic of Iraq


Amaris Leal
President Emeritus Oct 2019 – Jun 2020
First Secretary / Belize High Commission


Silvana Lesca
Secretary-General
Minister Counsellor, Embassy of Uruguay
Silvana Lesca-Barolin is Minister Counsellor of the Embassy of Uruguay to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland since August 2017.
From 2015 to July 2017 she was the Deputy Director of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay. Previously, she worked 2 years in the office of the Vice-minister of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay. She also served as diplomat in the Embassy of Uruguay to the Russian Federation for 5 years. Previously, she worked in a Uruguayan NGO “Ecumenical Service for Human Dignity” – SEDHU which is the local agency of the United Nations High Commisioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Uruguay. She studied Journalism and has a degree in International Relations and Master degree in Human Rights, Democracy and Rule of Law.


Francisco Jose Masis Holdridge
Treasurer
Counsellor / Consul, Embassy of Costa Rica


Mary Chvedatze
Legal Secretary
Mary Chakvetadze (BA in Jurisprudence in 2010; MA with distinctions in General International Law in 2012 both at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Georgia) has being engaged with the diplomatic service of Georgia for already 10 years. She started her professional career as an intern at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in July 2009. Due to her strong enthusiasm and dedication, Mary was offered a job on contract at the European Affairs Department at the MFA before she passed public contest and obtained her first diplomatic position of an Attaché in December 2011 at the same Department.
Mary Chakvetadze served at the European Affairs Department on different positions, including Second and First Secretary, until January 2018. During this period she was dealing with bilateral relations of Georgia with the neighbouring countries as well as coordinated multilateral cooperation within intergovernmental regional organisation ODED GUAM (Organization for Democracy and Economic Development, member states: Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova). Her main responsibilities as a desk officer for specific country and international organisation covered coordination of political and intersectorial cooperation; preparing respectful talking points and other materials; drafting official documents (joint statements, declarations, communiques and UNGA resolutions), and conducting/engagement in direct negotiations.
Mary Chakvetadze continues to regularly attend different professional and academic courses delivered by the renown diplomatic institutions. Her record includes Vienna Diplomatic Academy, Clingendael – Netherlands Institute of International Relations, Estonian School of Diplomacy, Polish Institute of Diplomacy, University of Malta and George C. Marshal Center for Security Studies (SRS 17-07 and SRS COI 19-16).
In January 2018 Mary Chakvetadze started her first diplomatic posting at the Embassy of Georgia to the United Kingdom. She assumed her position of Counsellor for trade and economic relations between Georgia and the UK and also got accredited as an Alternate Permanent Representative of Georgia to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Mary speaks fluent English and Russian and fair French.


Svetozar Dimitrov
Sponsor Liason
Svetozar has studied at universities in Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, and the USA, and holds B.A.s in History and Political Science/International Relations, as well as an M.A. in International Relations and European Studies; he is working on a Ph.D. in History of Ideas.
Svetozar has been a diplomat for 7 years.
He is interested in art and enjoys painting, skiing, and travelling.
Member of the YDL Committee since 2017.


Gareth Wilson
Sponsor Liason
FCO


Rasha Haddad
Events
First Secretary / Embassy of Lebanon
Rasha Haddad is the 1st Secretary at the Embassy of Lebanon in London since August 2019. In November 2017, she created the Lebanese Gastrodiplomacy concept and introduced it to the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants. Her educational background includes a Master of Advanced Studies in Private Law from the Lebanese University – Beirut (2015) and a bachelor of Laws from La Sagesse University – Beirut (2011). Before joining the diplomatic service in 2016, Rasha worked with the UNDP on the regional project: Anti-Corruption and Integrity in the Arab Countries (ACIAC).
