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.