​THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
​2026

Mr Robert Marin
​Romania​

President

​Robert D. MARIN, Gen(r), is a leader with extensive experience in diplomacy, justice and home affairs and international cooperation. Currently Robert serves as Consul General of Romania in London, the largest consular mission of Romania abroad, serving a community of over 750,000 Romanian nationals across England and Wales. With a career spanning almost three decades, he has held key diplomatic and governmental positions, overseeing consular operations, crisis management, and international law enforcement collaboration. He led Romania’s Brexit Unit in London and pioneered unique partnerships with civil society and UK authorities to support vulnerable communities. His expertise in combating modern slavery and human trafficking has contributed to the development of integrated and innovative responses that fostered international cooperation on these critical issues.His dedication and leadership have been recognised with multiple awards, including the 2022 Consul of the Year and the 2022 Consul of the Year Award for Europe by UK Embassy Magazine.

Mr Guy Van Glabeke
Belgium

Vice President

Ms Iva Gudelj
Croatia

Executive Secretary

Iva Gudelj is a career diplomat with political science degree with 20 years of experience in the foreign service of the Republic of Croatia.
Since 2018 she has been serving in London, UK as a Head of Consular Section of the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in London, UK. Previously, she was posted in London, UK with a role of consul from 2012 until 2016, and prior to that she served as Croatian diplomat in Albania, South Africa and Russia.
She has been an active member of the CCL Executive Committee since 2018. 

​

Mr Odysseas Odysseos
Cyprus

Treasurer

Mr Odysseas Odysseos joined the Cyprus Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a Diplomat in 2010.
Between 2015 and 2020 he has served in the Permanent Representation of Cyprus to the EU.
Between 2020 and 2022 he has served as the Deputy Chief of State Protocol.
Since August 2022 he has been serving as the Consul General of the Republic of Cyprus to the UK and as an executive Committee Member of the Consular Corps of London.
He has been awarded with the Golden Cross of the Order of the Phoenix from the Hellenic Republic, the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland and Knight Commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great by the Holy See.

Mr Christopher Buckwell
São Tomé & Príncipe

Member

Chris Buckwell has been the Honorary Consul for São Tomé & Príncipe since March 2018. He is the country's only accredited representative in the UK.
Chris is a solicitor by profession and has sat as a Tribunal Judge, on a part-time basis, since 1999.
Having served as a co-opted member of the Executive Committee previously, Chris was first elected as President in 2022 and was re-elected in 2023.

Ms Vesna Vercon Ivic
Serbia

Member

Vesna Vercon Ivic is a career diplomat in the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2002, where, from the Third Secretary to the First Counsellor, she performed various diplomatic tasks in the Diplomatic Protocol, International Legal Department, Legal Team of the Ministry before the International Court of Justice, Legal and Human Resources Department and Consular Department.
Between 2005 and 2009 she has served at the Embassy of Serbia in Tripoli. Between 2014 and 2018 she has served at the Embassy of Serbia in London and an executive Committee Member of the Consular Corps of London (2015 to 2018). Since September 2023 she has been serving for the second time as the Consul of the Republic of Serbia to the UK and as an executive Committee Member of the Consular Corps of London (from 2025).
She had finished Faculty of Law at the University of Belgrade (1995), Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia (2003) and a Master in International Humanitarian Law and Law of Human Rights (2012).

Mr René Figueredo Corrales
Paraguay

Member

Mr René Figueredo Corrales joined the Diplomatic and Consular Service of Paraguay in 2015. He has served as the Head of the Consular Section at the Embassy of Paraguay to the United Kingdom since June 2024. Prior to his current posting in London, René held various positions within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Paraguay and the government, including the Office of the Legal Counsel on Public International Law, the Directorate for Multilateral Economic Organizations, and the General Legal Directorate of the Civilian Cabinet of the Presidency of the Republic of Paraguay (on secondment). He earned his law degree from the Universidad Nacional de Asunción (Paraguay) in 2015 and holds a Master in Constitutional Justice and Human Rights from the University of Bologna (2021) and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the University of Michigan Law School (2022).

Ms Elizabeth Stewart
Embassy Magazine

Associate Member

Elizabeth has over a decade's experience in diplomatic reporting, having worked at Diplomat magazine since 1998.
She was editor of the magazine for many years and was responsible for its successful relaunch in 2001.
​Elizabeth is a member of the Women in Diplomatic Service, the consular Corps of London and publishes Password, a magazine for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Association.

Mr Minos Papanikolaou

Permanent Secretary

Minos Papanikolaou studied Politics and International Relations for his undergraduate degree at the University of Greenwich and he is holding a Masters Degree in Diplomatic Studies from the Diplomatic Academy of London - University of Westminster.  
​He joined the Consular Corps of London as their Permanent Secretary in March 2013.