He was Ambassador to Kazakhstan (2002-2006 in Almaty and 2011-2013 in Astana), also covering Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan; Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire (1998-2002) also covering Liberia, Guinea, Cameroun, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Sierra Leone; and Consul-General in Frankfurt am Main (1994-1998). He was the Economic/Commercial Counsellor at the Embassy in Beijing (1990-1994), after he started his diplomatic career as Deputy Head of Mission in the Philippines after the Marcos era (1986-1990).
An Industrial/Intellectual Property lawyer by training, he worked as company lawyer with a Dutch steel company and consultant in Indonesia. He was also legal advisor to the Ministry of Justice & Police in Surinam (1976-1979), before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.