SU alumna to serve as Ambassador to New Zealand

Ambassador Kira Christianne Danganan-Azucena was recently confirmed by the Committee on Appointments of the House of Representatives, headed by Negros Oriental Second District Congressman Manuel “Chiquiting” T. Sagarbarria. (Photo from Neil Rio)

Silliman University (SU) alumna Kira Christianne Danganan-Azucena will serve as Chief of Mission, Class I Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to New Zealand, with concurrent jurisdiction over the Republic of Fiji, the Kingdom of Tonga, the Independent State of Samoa, and the Cook Islands, as confirmed by the Commission on Appointments last February 22, 2023.

Before this appointment, Danganan-Azucena was the assistant secretary for the United Nations (UN) and other international organizations at the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Philippines.

She also served as Chargé d’affaires and Deputy Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the UN in New York. Subsequently, she was elected Chair of the Special Committee on the Charter of the UN and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization.

This is Azucena’s fourth assignment as a diplomat. Her previous assignments were in Rome, Hongkong, and New York.

Kira, as she is fondly called by her close friends, is a native Dumagueteña and a “true red” Sillimanian. She finished her Kindergarten (1980), Elementary (1986), High School (1990), and Bachelor of Mass Communications (1994) cum laude, all from SU.