d'Vinci
Ri Cheol
A senior DPRK diplomat, the ambassador to the DPRK UN mission in Geneva (1987-2010), and concurrently the ambassador to Switzerland (1988-2010).
RI CHEOL (1935- ). A senior diplomat from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), who from 1987 to 2010 was the ambassador to the DPRK United Nations mission in Geneva, and concurrently, from 1988 to 2010, the ambassador to Switzerland. Ri was educated at the Mansudae Revolutionary School and at Kim Il Sung University. He was noted as a bureau director in the foreign ministry in the early 1970s, and became director of the protocol department in 1974. In 1980, he became a deputy director in the Korean Workers' Party (KWP) Organization and Guidance Department and also held a position in the personnel secretariat. That same year, he was appointed as counselor to the DPRK UN mission in Geneva, becoming head of the post in 1987. The following year, he also became ambassador to Switzerland.
Republic of Korea (ROK) and other media regularly identified him as the person handling the former DPRK leader Kim Jong Il's personal finances in Switzerland, and he was also believed to have overseen the Swiss education of the latter's three sons, Kim Jeong-nam, Kim Jeong-cheol, and Kim Jong Un. He was reported to be the broker behind the deal that brought the Egyptian construction and communications company Orascom to the DPRK. No reason was given for his departure from Switzerland, although there was much speculation that a new generation of DPRK leaders would prefer a new lead person in Geneva, or that tightened Swiss Jaws on bank accounts made it more difficult for him to operate.
All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher. (Historical Dictionary of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, by James E. Hoare, published by RLPG Books, appears by permission of the author and publisher).
Republic of Korea (ROK) and other media regularly identified him as the person handling the former DPRK leader Kim Jong Il's personal finances in Switzerland, and he was also believed to have overseen the Swiss education of the latter's three sons, Kim Jeong-nam, Kim Jeong-cheol, and Kim Jong Un. He was reported to be the broker behind the deal that brought the Egyptian construction and communications company Orascom to the DPRK. No reason was given for his departure from Switzerland, although there was much speculation that a new generation of DPRK leaders would prefer a new lead person in Geneva, or that tightened Swiss Jaws on bank accounts made it more difficult for him to operate.
All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher. (Historical Dictionary of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, by James E. Hoare, published by RLPG Books, appears by permission of the author and publisher).
