Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, new Secretary General of CARICOM

The CARICOM heads of government have finally selected a new Secretary General to replace Sir Edwin Carrington who vacated the post since last year. The new SG of the regional body is Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, a fifty-six year old Dominican national. For the past six years, LaRocque has served as Assistant Secretary General for Trade and Economic Integration at the CARICOM Secretariat. According to a CARICOM release, LaRocque has years of experience in management, public administration, economic development, trade, foreign affairs and diplomacy. He is currently the Co-Chair of the US-CARICOM Trade and Investment Council and is leading negotiations with the United States Trade Representative Office for a new Trade and Investment Framework Agreement. LaRocque is the seventh CARICOM secretary general.

Dr. Carla Barnett, an advisor to the government of Belize, also aspired to the top job along with many other candidates from the region but in the end, the heads of CARICOM went with LaRocque.