The Diplomat
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has decided to retain diplomat Philippe Jones Lhuillier, who has held the post since 2017, as ambassador to Spain.
Marcos assumed the presidency of the Philippines on 30 June and, although he has made changes in the heads of mission in other countries, he has opted to keep Lhuillier, who had been appointed by the previous Philippine head of state Rodrigo Duterte, in Madrid.
Philippe Jones Lhuillier, 76, arrived in Madrid five years ago, having served as ambassador to Portugal between 2012 and 2016 and to Italy between 1990 and 2010.
Before joining the diplomatic service, Lhuillier was president of the Philippines’ largest pawnshop chain, Cebuana Lhuillier Pawnshop.
In 2008, he was unanimously selected as one of the Twenty Outstanding Filipinos Abroad (TOFA) for promoting the image of Filipinos while serving as Philippine ambassador to Rome.
The University of the Philippines also honoured Lhuillier by naming one of its lecture halls the Ambassador Philippe J. Lhuillier Lecture Hall.
