The Diplomatic Council Founder & CEO of the Board of Presidents Ambassador Buddhi Athauda started from a purely Sri Lankan background with an unprecedented desire to represent his Motherland to the world and become one of the most international persons on earth. While representing Sri Lanka as the Ambassador in The Hague, he held many prestigious positions in various multinational organizations. He was the Chairman of the Budget Committee of the Permanent Court of Arbitration for many years and was unanimously elected by 115 fellow member states. Buddhi Athauda served as Chairman, Common Fund for Commodities, elected unanimously by member countries at the 25th Annual General Meeting of the Governing Council, proposed by the Secretary-General of The Hague Peace Conference on Private International Law to Chair the Administrative Council to formulate a financial framework for The Hague Conference on Private International Law for a one year period. He was also unanimously elected Vice-chair of the 18th Session of the Conference of States Parties to the Chemical Weapons at the sessions held in December 2013.  In addition, among his many accolades, he was awarded Diplomat Magazine’s Certificate of Merit, in recognition of his many contributions to the diplomatic community. Just this autumn 2017 he has been appointed Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to France to continue his diplomatic career. His responsibility as Ambassador includes major European countries beyond France including Spain and Portugal.