Francis named high commissioner to S/Africa, Dillon is ambassador to Venezuela


Two former ministers were on Tuesday presented with their Instruments of Appointment to serve at Trinidad and Tobago’s overseas missions. They were among a group of five new heads of mission who received their credentials from Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs Senator the Honourable Dr Amery Browne.

Lovell Francis, a former minister of state, has been named the country’s high commissioner to the Republic of South Africa. Francis, elected MP for Moruga/Tableland in 2015, shared the Education Ministry with Anthony Garcia after the PNM’s election. But neither he nor Garcia received a ministerial appointment after the party was returned to power in 2020.

Photo: Minister of Foreign Affairs and Caricom Dr Amery Browne (third from right) poses for a photo with new heads of Trinidad and Tobago Overseas Missions after handing over their Instruments of Appointment to them.
(via Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Caricom)

Major General (Ret’d) Edmund Dillon will assume duties as Ambassador to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Like Francis, he is a former minister who first came to office in 2015 but he was shifted from National Security to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development in 2018, two years before the end of the party’s term.

Dillon, former Member of Parliament for Point Fortin, is also a former Chief of Defence Staff of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force.

Her Excellency Analisa Low, the only woman among the five, has been assigned to the People’s Republic of China. She is an International Affairs professional who has ample experience managing bilateral agreements and policy matters.

Two others also received their Instruments from Dr Browne.

His Excellency Vishnu Dhanpaul, a retired public servant who has served as a permanent secretary in the Ministries of Finance, Energy and Energy Industries, and Public Utilities, will now represent the country as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Photo: Major General (Ret’d) Edmund Dillon will assume duties as Ambassador to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
(Copyright Office of the Parliament 2020)

His Excellency Gerard Greene, a former career diplomat with over 35 years’ experience in the Foreign Service, will take up the position of Ambassador to the Federative Republic of Brazil. Between 1996 and 1999, he served in the position of Counsellor at the Embassy of Trinidad and Tobago in Brazil.

It is from Brazil that the current Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs was recalled to take up the position just over a year ago.

Minister Browne reminded the newly appointed Heads of Mission of what must be their mandate as they seek to project and advance the global interests of Trinidad and Tobago in the international arena. It is, he said, to ensure that the Government’s policy framework serves as their guide as they work to deepen Trinidad and Tobago’s bilateral and multilateral partnerships.

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