The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade is the ministry responsible for handling Jamaica's external relations and foreign trade. The ministry's current director is Senator Kamina Johnson Smith.
The ministry's official mission statement notes that it "is responsible for the implementation of Jamaica's foreign policy, the management of Jamaica international relations and the promotion of its interests overseas."
History After achieving independence from the United Kingdom in August 1962, Jamaica immediately established its foreign ministry, then known as the Ministry of External Affairs. In 1976, the government changed the ministry's name to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and eventually added "and Foreign Trade" sometime later to reflect the full scope of its mission.
List of ministers This is a list of ministers of foreign affairs and foreign trade of Jamaica:
1962–1967: Sir Alexander Bustamante 1967–1972: Hugh Shearer 1972–1975: Michael Manley 1975–1977: Dudley Thompson 1977–1980: P. J. Patterson 1980–1989: Hugh Shearer 1989–1993: David Coore 1993–1995: Paul Robertson 1995–2000: Seymour Mullings 2000–2001: Paul Robertson 2001–2006: Keith Desmond Knight 2006–2007: Anthony Hylton 2007–2012: Kenneth Baugh 2012–2016: Arnold Joseph Nicholson 2016–present: Kamina Johnson Smith
See also Foreign relations of Jamaica Diplomatic missions of Jamaica Cabinet of Jamaica Prime Minister of Jamaica
References
External links Official website