Congress confirms Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean

The Embassy of the United States of America to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean is pleased to announce that on March 30, the U.S.{{more}} Senate confirmed Larry Palmer to be the new Ambassador to Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Speaking on February 7 to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Ambassador Palmer said: “I am honored to have been nominated to represent the United States in this important region. These nations play an important role both bilaterally and in multilateral organizations like the Organization of American States and the United Nations.”Ambassador Palmer recognizes that “the global economic downturn has hit the region particularly hard,” and further said: “I will build on prior work and lead American efforts to promote economic prosperity, trade, and entrepreneurship in the region.”

Ambassador Palmer is committed to furthering the success of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), which, he said, “is vitally important to providing for the safety and security of the United States by ensuring that Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean can combat transnational organized crime and avoid the violence and instability seen elsewhere in the hemisphere.”

Larry L. Palmer is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service. He was formerly U.S. Ambassador to Honduras, and also served as President and CEO of the Inter-American Foundation, an independent agency that provides grants to Latin American communities to foster economic development. In addition, he has served in Uruguay, Paraguay, South Korea, Sierra Leone and the Dominican Republic, and was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Liberia.

A native of Augusta, Georgia, Ambassador Palmer earned a Bachelor of Arts from Emory University, a Master of Education in African History at Texas Southern University, and a Doctorate of Higher Education Administration and African Studies from Indiana University in Bloomington.