December 2017 saw Kasteel de Wittenburg in all its winter glory for Diplomat Club Wassenaar’s special event.
From the jolly Father Christmas greeting the guests on arrival, to the splendid choir ensemble singing on the stairs, the lavishly decorated Xmas tree and the candle lit decor…all touches were present to guarantee a magical atmosphere.
The event kicked off with the Welcome Ceremony in the Club Library where Founder/Director of the Club, Mrs Shida Bliek, cordially greeted the 9 new Ambassadors who have presented their credentials from june 2017 to His Majesty Willem-Alexander, the King of The Netherlands. She decorated the Ambassadors with a Dutch ribbon before introducing them to Deputy Mayor of Wassenaar, Mrs Inge Zweerts de Jong.

The new Ambassadors present at the ceremony:
EL SALVADOR: H.E. Mr. Agustín Vásquez Gómez and Mrs. Mirella Pocasangre de Vasquez
EGYPT: H.E. Mr. Amgad Maher Abdel Ghaffar
GUATEMALA: H.E. Mrs. Gladys Marithza Ruiz Sanchez de Vielman
LITHUANIA: H.E. Mr. Vidmantas Purlys and Mrs. Dita Purlienė
LUXEMBOURG: H.E. Mr. Jean-Marc Hoscheit
MEXICO: H.E. Mr. Edgar Elías Azar and Mrs. Patricia Atala
POLAND: H.E. Mr. Marcin Czepelak and Mrs. Jadwiga Czepelak
SLOVENIA: H.E. Mrs. Sanja Štiglic
URUGUAY: H.E. Mr. Luis Ricardo Nario Fagúndez and Mrs. Laura Dupuy Nario

They were not alone in this, many more Ambassadors, all honorary members of Diplomat Club Wassenaar, also joined us for the occasion together with guests from Dutch society amongst which to name a few: Mr Jan de Mooij, Director CHIO Rotterdam; Mr Henk Vermeulen, Director of Royal conservatoire the Hague and Mr Roelof van Ees, Chief of Protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Mrs Inge Zweerts de Jong warmly welcomed the new Ambassadors and guests on behalf of the City of Wassenaar, stressing the international character of the municipality and its many highlights, and announcing the arrival of the new Mayor, Mr Frank Koen.

This occasion was toasted splendidly thanks to the generosity of the Ambassador of Georgia, H.E. Konstatine Surguladze who offered excellent Georgian wines. The Ambassador of Spain, H.E. Fernando Arias, newly appointed as Secretary General of OPCW (from July 2018) stated to the press: “ My wish for the Netherlands, is for it to pursue the many good things it has, such as social stability, tolerance and commitment to international relations. Your country must remain an example to the world.”
The full article can be found in de Telegraaf.

There was time for a quick photo shoot and a sampling of the lovely Dutch buffet, complete with the famous pea soup and meat balls and stampot before castle Director Mr Ralf Meppelder whisked us all down to take our seats in the ballroom, together with the 400 other guests to attend famous Dutch Singer Trijntje Oosterhuis’s special Christmas concert.

During the break, champagne, cheese and dessert were offered to club members and Trijntje Oosterhuis also popped by to celebrate with us and meet our guests, thank you for the goody bags!
A warm thank you to all Club Members who attended and for your ongoing support for Diplomat Club Wassenaar and Diplomat Affairs Magazine.
A Very Happy New Year to all.