Vanu Gopala Menon
Vanu Gopala Menon became the Permanent Representative of Singapore to the United Nations on September 16, 2004, a position he held until August 2011. As an Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Menon is the personal representative of the President of Singapore.
Menon was educated at the National University of Singapore, taking a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration in 1985. He then joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, serving as First Secretary at Singapore's UN mission in New York. Returning to study on a Raffles Scholarship at the London School of Economics, he was awarded a Master of Science in International Relations in 1994. Menon then served in the Singapore High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. On his return to Singapore, he joined the Policy, Planning and Analysis Directorate of the Ministry, rising to become its Director. He left that position for Geneva where he represented Singapore to the UN, whilst also serving as Singapore's Ambassador to Turkey.
Menon is married to Mrs Jayanthi Menon and they have a son.