Ramdin new SG at the OAS

Surinamese Foreign Minister Albert Ramdin was Monday elected as the new secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), becoming the first Caribbean Community national to do so and breaking a decades old stranglehold by candidates from Latin American countries. Ramdin will succeed Uruguayan diplomat Luis Almagro in the top position in the coming weeks.

It was a relatively easy ride for Ramdin, 66, a former two term assistant secretary general at the OAS up to 2015, as other candidates for the position had either withdrawn in the past week or had failed to gain support from other hemispheric nations.

“This is the first time in the history of the OAS that a representative from the Caribbean has been elected secretary general,”  an elated Surinamese government said in a statement.

“It is a great honor for Suriname that our candidate has been supported by the vast majority of the member states,” said President Chan Santokhi noting Ramdin’s “calm assurance.”

The 15- nation CARICOM bloc of which Suriname is a member, hailed his election. “This landmark election marks the first time a representative from a CARICOM member state has been elected as secretary general. Mr. Ramdin’s election reflects the confidence of member states in his abilities. The community is confident  that Minister Ramdin will serve in his new role upholding the charter of the OAS and demonstrating the necessary expertise to navigate regional challenges.”

Ramdin had also seved as an assistant secretary general at CARICOM and will just about complete a single term as frogn Minister, having been appointed back in 2020. He takes over in May, in the same month when Suriname will hold general elections.

Ramdin had received the full backing of all 14 regional member states and support from Brazil and a slew of other influential hemispheric nations as it appears that they had rallied behind the Caribbean candidate in larger than usual numbers for the first time since the founding of the organization back in 1948.