Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, was the only Caribbean woman to be honoured by the Society of Foreign Consuls in New York.
On the occasion of last week’s observance of International Women’s Day, the Society of Foreign Consuls held its Annual Award Ceremony on Friday at the Consulate General of India in New York City.
Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett was among 15 women from countries around the world working in foreign offices, who were awarded with a Certificate of Recognition by the Society for their outstanding achievements and contribution to community empowerment in the United States.
In addition to Guyana, the other honourees hailed from Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, El Salvador, Guyana, India, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Peru, Serbia, and Türkiye.
Guyana’s honouree, Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett was born in Moruka and she has accumulated over 20 years of experience in the public sector, working with some of the most vulnerable communities in Guyana, and in the international arena.
In April 2001, Rodrigues-Birkett, a former primary school teacher, became the youngest Minister in the Guyanese Cabinet, having been appointed by then President Bharrat Jagdeo as the Minister of Amerindian Affairs. After creating history as the first female and the youngest person to hold that office, Rodrigues-Birkett then served as Foreign Affairs Minister following her appointment to the post in April 2008.
At the time, her elevation to that office made her the highest-ranking Guyanese of Indigenous descent in the governmental hierarchy. In 2009, Foreign Trade and International Cooperation were added to her portfolio.
Following the change of Government in Guyana after the 2015 elections, Rodrigues-Birkett took up jobs overseas, working with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). She was FAO’s Special Coordinator of Parliamentary Alliances, from 2015 to 2017. She then served as Director of the FAO Liaison Office in Geneva since 2017 before her appointment as Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the UN in October 2020.
Since its founding in 1925, the Society of Foreign Consuls in New York has represented the world’s largest diplomatic community. This unique organisation, whose members are gathered from the 113 NYC-based Consulates General, is steered by the Executive Committee made up of elected members representing all countries via regional groupings.
The Society strives to promote good relations between the NYC Consular Corps and its hosts, New York and the United States of America.
