Ambassador Rattray is New Permanent Representative to the UN

Ambassador Courtney Rattray has been appointed the new Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York.

Making the announcement at the meeting of the St. Andrew Rotary Club at the Four Seasons Hotel on Tuesday, April 23, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator the Hon. A.J. Nicholson, said Mr. Rattray is slated take up his appointment in June.

He currently serves as Jamaica’s Ambassador the People’s Republic of China, where he was posted in 2008. He also serves as the Non-Resident Ambassador to Viet Nam, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and Laos, and Non-Resident High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Singapore and Pakistan.

Ambassador Rattray began his career in the Foreign Service in 2000 as Advisor to the then Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister and was subsequently appointed Jamaica’s Deputy Chief of Mission, in Washington, D.C., the following year. He held that post until 2005 when he was appointed Director of the Bilateral Relations Department. He served in that position for three years before his appointment as Ambassador to China.

Prior to these appointments, Ambassador Rattray served as a negotiator in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce; Executive Director of the Jamaica Marketing Company Ltd. (London); Trade Commissioner for the Jamaica Trade Commission (London); Consultant for the Caribbean Banana Exporters’ Association; and held various managerial positions at Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO).

He holds a Master of Science Degree in International Business from South Bank University, London, England; pursued the Global Master of Arts Programme at Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Boston, USA; and holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in International Studies from West Virginia Weslyan College in the United States.

“As Foreign Minister, I am confident that Ambassador Rattray is the most appropriate selection to lead Jamaica’s UN Permanent Mission in New York at this time and to promote the vital role of the UN in the advancement of multilateralism,” Senator Nicholson said.

He added that the Ambassador’s broad-based experience and diverse range of skills, especially in the critical areas of international negotiations and international diplomacy, “will advance Jamaica’s efforts to promote the equitable treatment of the concerns of developing countries, particular small island developing states, such as ours.”

By Douglas McIntosh, JIS Reporter