Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Officially In: D. Brent Hardt to Georgetown

Tractor in rice field, Guyana Tractor_in_field...Image via WikipediaOn April 5, President Obama announced his intent to nominate D. Brent Hardt to be Ambassador to the Co-operative Republic of Guyana. The WH released the following brief bio:

D. Brent Hardt is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service and currently serves as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim at the U.S. Embassy to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.   Mr. Hardt previously served as Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Nassau, Bahamas and at the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See.  Prior to that, he served as Team Leader for NATO Policy in the Office of European Political and Security Affairs in the Department of State and as Political-Economic Section Chief at the U.S. Embassy to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.  Mr. Hardt joined the United States Foreign Service in 1988, and served as a Consular Officer in Barbados, Political Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, Germany during German unification, and Political-Military Officer at the U.S. Embassy in The Hague, where he also served as an exchange diplomat in the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Mr. Hardt earned a B.A. in History from Yale University, and Master’s and Doctorate degrees from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

The US Embassy in Guyana has not had an ambassador since 2009 when Ambassador Jones was posted there.  Sometime in early summer 2009, Karen Williams became Chargé d'Affaires and was in that capacity until summer of 2010.  In fall 2010 Thomas Pierce assumed command as Chargé d’Affaires, a.i .

The Historian's Office at State actually listed two US ambassadors to Guyana, with the same appointment date but different dates for the presentation of credentials which cannot be right. Ambassador Jones was in Guyana from 2008-2009 which is not the normal tour of duty for career appointees. There is a small item online from 2009 that talks about his early departure due to threats received but we could not confirm that.

John Melvin Jones (1944-)
Foreign Service officer
State of Residence: Maryland
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (Guyana)
Appointed: June 30, 2008
Presentation of Credentials: October 8, 2008

Asif J. Chaudry (1956-)
Foreign Service officer
State of Residence: Washington
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (Guyana)
Appointed: June 30, 2008
Presentation of Credentials: September 24, 2008

If confirmed, Mr. Hardt would take over from career diplomat, Thomas C. Pierce who was assigned to Georgetown, Guyana as the Deputy Chief of Mission and has served as the Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. since 2010.




Related item:
President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts, 4/5/11












1 comment:

Anonymous said...

jones has a short tour in Guyana because he received death threats and hit the road as any sensible man would do
Guayna is a haven for cocaine traffickers and govt sponsored criminals. don't take it from me. look it up ;-)