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News
Audrey Marks resigns
Ambassador to Washington coming home in March
BY INGRID BROWN Observer senior reporter browni@jamaicaobserver.com
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
AMBASSADOR to Washington Audrey Marks yesterday confirmed that she has resigned, a move that will open up one of the most coveted diplomatic postings, giving Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller a free hand to select a replacement.
"I have offered my resignation as is the normal protocol in these circumstances," Marks told the Observer via cellphone from Washington yesterday evening.
Marks, Jamaica's first female ambassador to the US capital, offered no further details. However, an Observer source said she tendered the resignation letter early January but has not yet received a response from the People's National Party Government, which took office following the December 29, 2011 general election.
According to the source, Marks gave the administration three months' notice, therefore her resignation will take effect in March.
Last night, Government ministers dodged Observer queries on the issue.
When contacted, Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister Senator A J Nicholson directed the Observer to speak with the permanent secretary in his ministry.
"You are asking the wrong person. You need to speak with the permanent secretary," Nicholson said.
However, the acting permanent secretary, Vilma McLish, did not respond to an e-mail sent to her up to press time.
A check with the minister with responsibility for information Senator Sandrea Falconer also did not shed any further light as she said she was not aware of the matter and referred the Observer to the foreign affairs minister.
Marks is the founder and chief executive officer of the bill payment agency, Paymaster, for which she received an Observer Business Leader nomination for the year 1999.
She was sent to Washington in May 2010 by the Jamaica Labour Party Government to replace Anthony Johnson, who was dispatched to the United Kingdom as Jamaica's High Commissioner to that country.
Johnson had replaced the former PNP Cabinet minister Burchell Whiteman as Jamaica's top diplomat to the United Kingdom.
Prior to assuming office as ambassador, Marks served as deputy chairman of the Urban Development Corporation. She also sat on the boards of RBTT Securities Jamaica Limited, Jamaica Trade and Investment Company Limited, National Health Fund, Mona School of Business, as well as a number of private and public sector bodies.
A graduate of Immaculate Conception and Marymount High schools, Marks holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in business administration from the University of West Indies and Nova University (Florida), USA, respectively.
 
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2/1/2012
Audrey Marks is exceptional and makes me proud to call her Ambassador Marks. When it comes to true inspiration, you can look to her. Her very presence and articulate demeanor gives you inspiration and encouragement to reach for the star. A true leader and innovator! Many do not care for her because she did not choose to have the chicken dinners and drum circuits events. She represents us very well. And, me is not fi any a di pawty dem! Gonna miss you Ambassaor Marks. God bless you!
2/1/2012
it is an established norm that with the change of government, all political appointees, heads of public agencies and commissions to tender their resignation to give way to the incoming government to make the own appointment, Amb. Marks is aware of this as does every other appointee and that's why she resigned, people must avail themselves of the knowledge that exist and not assume that everything is a conspiracy or victimization, this happened when the JLP took power and no one complained.
1/31/2012
Its interesting to see how Jamaica's " powerful" just jump from big job to big job and the results remain poor. Self imposed importance
1/31/2012
New administrations typically fill their cabinets and other appointive positions with members of their own political party. Additionally, new administration may also appoint members of the opposing party to high-level positions in order to reduce partisanship or improve cooperation between the political parties. Nevertheless, Appointments across party lines are uncommon.
1/31/2012
" However, an Observer source said she tendered the resignation letter early January but has not yet received a response from the People's National Party Government "
The above statement , could be an indication of an reluctance , on the part of the current gov't. to accept the resignation. It's possible , that there were attempts to encourage Ms. Marks to remain , but she does not wish to.
1/31/2012
@D T, are you saying that Burchell Whiteman did not do a good job in London? The lady resigned and that should be the end of that. Nothing said that she was asked to resign.
Don't you think the PNP have people they could put into the position who could do as good a job or better? Why are the JLP bloggers so quarrelsome? Why do you have to take the exception to prove your point.
You can't agree with your own, so how can you agree with others? Instance Mike Henry and the JLP. Cho man.
1/31/2012
@DT...You come to the conclusion that Portia push out the ambassador.did the ambassador said anywhere in the article that she was pushed out or Portia ask her to resign? why you pointing finger at Portia?@Petros.The truth hurts,such is life.look where she is heading to up on her return.
1/31/2012
All our Diplomats should be trained career officers from the ranks of the Public Service or persons who have distinguished themselves in business and investments. No washed up Politicians!
Thanks Ms. Marks, I thought you were a good one. I hope you will be considered for the vacant Senate Seat.
1/31/2012
It wuld seem that most of these bloggers day in day out are party affiliates meaning their one dimensional and cant see further beyond partisianship. To be vhonest Jamaican politics is at best third world in action and mentality.
No wonder after 50 yrs ur still getting a below average grade. Small minded people do small minded things and are frankly not ready for big business.
Look at Mr Greenspan he has been da top man @ the treasury under both da democrats n republicans 4 years. Y?
1/31/2012
Just a bit of information to all here that wants to assign a motive to Ms Marks Resignation...Diplomatic posting in London and Washington and to a lesser extent Ottawa for all governments, have been political postings. This is not just a Jamaican issue. Most if not all govt worldwide, uses these posting as political reward. No amount harping here will change the facts that these three capitals are usually reserved for political operatives..That is just the way it is..
1/31/2012
Jamaica needs to mature politically very quickly. A fifty year old shouldn't still be running around with a snotty nose, or acting like a spoiled teenager. If the government is serious about implementing constitutional change in our form of governance, they also need to ensure we protect our civil service from political interference. Our diplomats should be capable professionals, able to represent our country regardless of the political party in power, and remain free from political influence.
1/31/2012
@RED ANTS - RANK STUPIDITY
1/31/2012
There should b no heart ache over this, this is how the system works, if she was appointed by the previous Govt. there is no compelling reason for this Govt. to retain her in that sensitive position. You want someone who will represent and serve within your Govt./party interest with the belief that it is in the Country's best interest.. I fully agrees with @Richard Kitson-Walters.
1/31/2012
I can tell that many of u bloggers r talking of the top of ur heads and have no idea of Marks performance; not saying she was the worst. You can't use her business accomplishments to say that she performed well as an ambassador. Frankly, without any political motive, Gordon Shirely was a lot better as he was a people person, which is key for a good ambassador. There were more events to reach Ja. in the DC area and beyond. I hope we have another ambassador like Gordon Shirely.
1/31/2012
@ Red Ants and Wanda W I agree that these positions are political appointments but if we have someone in the position who has performed very well why change them. Obama kept the defense secretary that George Bush appointed. We can do the same in Ja, we just need to lose our political bias for a bit and think of Ja for a change. PSM would be smart to allow her to continue in as ambassador, she has done a good job for Ja, we need more like her if we want to move forward.
1/31/2012
Why are some of us so quick to put apples in the ORANGE basket? Can we try to make sense most of the time instead of politicizing everything? I refuse to believe that we are too limited in our scope.
1/31/2012
Red Ants, your comments demonstrates triabalism and one which lack of intellectual depth and analysis. There is more than sufficient evidence in your utterance that points to a serious deficiency in cognitive skills and your inability to restrain the tongue from spewing nonsense.
1/31/2012
some of you people are so blinded by your political colours that youjust wont accept that these things are the norm. everytime there is a change of government these things happen. Gordon Shirley resigned back in 2007 and there was no alabaloo.... look everytime there is an election in the US after the new term begins the US ambassador to Jamaica change how many ambassadors have we seen in Jamaica ove the past 2 decades about 5 or 6 unu need fi leggo off the politics and help build Jamaica
1/31/2012
Did we all see this coming? Bruce will not accept the senate seat, as this may seem like a demotion, so I guess Marks will...mark my words.
1/31/2012
Why are these JLP bloggers pretending that they don't know how administrations work? Ask the U.S. Ambassador to Jamaica which party she belongs to. Ask the previous one who was here when George Bush was president what party she represented and she will tell you. Why did we not hear from them when Burchell Whiteman was recalled from London? . How come we did not hear from them when Mr. Vaz said what he was going to do with the public sector workers when they returned to office?
Hypocrites.
1/31/2012
Mrs. Marks is a Jamaican pioneer who started and operated businesses, ranging from a 100-acre banana exporting farm, Transportation Company, to a real estate sales and development company. She has also operated a Venture Capital Company with diverse investments, including manufacturing, travel and entertainment companies. Marks is the founder of Paymaster (Jamaica) Limited, a multi-transaction company which she conceptualized and started in 1997. Cont…..
1/31/2012
....The company has created 150 agencies in Jamaica, providing services to over 1.4 million customers and employment for over 400 persons with annual transactions of over $40 Billion Dollars. It is the first multi-transaction agency in the Caribbean. We should celebrate her accomplishments instead of painting her with the political paintbrush. She has done more for Jamaica than many who claimed to be servants of the people with nothing tangible to show for their yrs of service.
1/31/2012
The time is right for our next ambassador to the US to be a career diplomat.
1/31/2012
I'm not sure of the facts surrounding Mrs. Marks resignation. I do hope she was not pressured into doing so. There is a possibility, but since I don't have the facts as yet, I'll refrain from blaming anyone and accept that she's doing it of her own free will. However, we have heard complaints from workers that they are being pressured to resign, to give the impression that they are reluctant to work for the current party. You represent Jamaica, when are hold certain post. Mrs. Mark did well and
1/31/2012
Thats sad but i guess thats what our system encourages. Audrey is a nice lady. I like her. I think she will surely be appointed senator. Andrew was that really forward thinking on your part to leave the seat vacant for Audrey or was it for your "daddy" Bruce as some have been saying? Hmmmmm
1/31/2012
Mini MC almost every Country's highest diplomats are always aligned with the Gov in Power. The exception hold true for career diplomat who are appointed not as a political appointee. The current US Ambassador who demit office after three years will not return to Washington as her predecessor did after this election. Mrs. Marks did the honorable thing. The government of the day have the right to decide whether they wish to honor her resignation or not. Do some reading before you post a blo
1/31/2012
It is so disappointing how we put a political slant on everything and become blinded by our bias to one political party. All the work that I have seen Mrs Marks accomplish since taking office has been for the good of Jamaica and has not been to the advantage of any political party. She has worked extremely hard and has been able to foster better relations between Jamaica and the USA. We need to get this party bias out of our system and see people for what they do to better our country.
1/31/2012
Why have we not heard from Anthony Johnson in this regard?
1/31/2012
When did ambassador become a political appointment? I am tired of the resignation frenzy.
1/31/2012
Not surprising at all.This goes to show she was representing a political party and not Jamaica.Come home Audrey a safe seat will open soon in central Clarendon,come home Audrey the chairman seat is vacant.senate seat number 8 is still vacant.
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