The sudden passing of Professor Dr Richard Bernal on January 4, 2023 has silenced one of Jamaica’s foremost diplomatic assets and a model of how a small country can punch above its weight in a space in which brutal political intrigue demands only the finest and most astute minds.

For 10 years, starting in 1991, Dr Richard Leighton Bernal, a man born, it would seem, to the service of his country, worked the corridors of world power in Washington, DC, and held the Jamaican flag aloft as ambassador to the United States.

US President Harry Truman notably said: “If you want a friend in Washington, DC, get a dog. Everyone in that milieu is a contract with an agenda. Your value to them depends on what you can do for them or what you can spend on their services.”

Audacious as his compatriots are wont to be, Dr Bernal walked among the high-powered diplomats as if he were from the biggest and richest country on Earth and earned a respect well beyond the size and population of this small island.

At the time when Dr Bernal became the face of Jamaica in the globe’s most important diplomatic post, the world was in a hurry to restructure trade relations through regional arrangements, such as the Free Trade Area of the Americas and international super agencies, such as the World Trade Organization.

Trade-offs were the order of the day, and those who could not play the game would be left behind. Dr Bernal brought Jamaican intellect and energy, articulation, charm, and a sunny personality that kept Jamaica solidly in the mix. The returns would earn him the gratitude of a nation and nothing less than the country’s fourth highest honour, the Order of Jamaica.

As if being prepared from his youth, the young Richard Bernal would follow the almost daily discussions on his dad’s verandah by some of Jamaica’s most fascinating intellectual heavyweights at the time, coming away with the the notion that man must serve beyond his own narrow interest.

And so when he had completed national service in Washington, it was immediately to the English-speaking Caribbean region that he was assigned, with a mission to articulate and defend the vital economic interests of the Caribbean Community, through the Regional Negotiating Machinery (RNM).

Although dispatched by People’s National Party prime ministers in Messrs Michael Manley and P J Patterson, Dr Bernal knew only the Jamaican colours as he devoted most of his working hours to representing his country.

His service and approach demonstrated that high-level diplomacy, while not being a science that can be learned from a book, is an art which comes naturally to those gifted with the innate aptitude. And astute political acumen, persuasive advocacy, physical endurance, and the intellect and self-confidence to engage anyone at any time were his essential qualities.

It was therefore not surprising that, while in Washington, Dr Bernal was invited by the US Congress to provide testimony at its hearing on matters that impacted small island developing states like Jamaica and the English-speaking Caribbean.

Fortunately, for us, he has left behind a treasure trove in the five books he has written, including a first-hand account of the experience of his tenure as Jamaica’s ambassador to the US and director general of the RNM.

Dr Bernal has served us well, indeed. Our condolence to his wife, the other members of his family, and his friends.