Amb. Courtney Rattray appointed Jamaica’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations

Ambassador Courtney Rattray. PHOTO/JIS

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

Rattray has been serving as the island-nation’s ambassador the People’s Republic of China since 2008. He has also served as the non-resident Ambassador to Vietnam, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Laos, and the non-resident High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Singapore and Pakistan.

Rattray brings to this position a wealth of experience – he began his career in Jamaica’s foreign service in 2000 as the Advisor to the then Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister and was subsequently elevated to the country’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 assignments, he 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).

Jamaica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, A.J Nicholson has endorse Rattray’s appointment as the island-nation’s Permanent Representative to the UN, saying, “I am confident that he (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.”

Source: Jamaica Information Service