Four diplomats quit, says foreign ministry
Friday, March 18, 2016
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ASSAMBA… high commissioner to London
THE foreign ministry yesterday announced that four politically appointed heads of mission serving in North America, Europe and Asia have quit and are to demit office on May 1.
“Consequent on the change of Administration, the non-career heads of mission in the Jamaican Foreign Service took the usual required step of offering their resignations,” a brief release from the ministry stated, while thanking the ambassadors, high commissioner and consul general for their service.
The diplomats who have resigned are High Commissioner to London Aloun N’dombet Assamba, who also serves Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Norway and Sweden; Ambassador to Washington, DC, Ralph Thomas; Ambassador to China Fay Pickersgill; and Consul General to New York Herman Lamont.
Assamba was appointed to the London mission in 2012.
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Pickersgill was assigned to Beijing in November of last year. She succeeded Thomas who was reassigned in July 2015 to Washington.
It is unclear how Lamont — a career diplomat — who previously served as deputy consul general for Miami and Toronto fits into the category of political appointee. It is understood that Lamont was invited back from retirement to work in the foreign service.
The foreign ministry declined yesterday to comment on whether it would be moving in the direction of appointing more career diplomats, or how soon replacements would be announced.