KUALA LUMPUR – Former foreign ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Muhammad Shahrul Ikram Yaakob has been appointed Malaysia’s new ambassador to the United States, succeeding Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, whose term ended in February after two years in Washington.
Shahrul received his letter of appointment from Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim at Istana Negara today. Also present were Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Mohamad Alamin and ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Amran Mohamed Zin.
A seasoned diplomat with 34 years in public service, Shahrul previously served as Malaysia’s ambassador to Qatar and Austria, and as permanent representative to the United Nations in New York from 2017 to 2018.
He also held postings in Beijing, Vienna and Washington, including as first secretary at the Malaysian embassy in the 1990s.
Hailing from Pahang, Shahrul holds a degree in ecology from Universiti Malaya and is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Programme.
His senior roles in Wisma Putra include deputy secretary-general (bilateral affairs), undersecretary for multilateral political affairs, and director-general of the ASEAN-Malaysia National Secretariat during Malaysia’s ASEAN chairmanship in 2015