Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo said he is pleased that Government strayed from its typical behaviour and recognised the value of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Prime Ministerial Candidate Elisabeth Harper by rehiring her
Elisabeth Harper
at the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
Ambassador Harper, a career diplomat, was the Director General of the Foreign Affairs Ministry before stepping down last year to run alongside PPP/C Presidential Candidate Donald Ramotar for the 2015 General and Regional Elections.
Jagdeo, during the parliamentary Opposition’s yearend press conference, described Harper as a competent Foreign Service Officer and expressed satisfaction that Government rehired her.
“We believe that competent people should be in the public service regardless of their race and political affiliation. We’d like to see more of this because the trend over the year has to dismiss people because of their race and politics and remove them capriciously and supplant them with cronies who are incompetent,” he stated.
Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge told media operatives on Thursday that Harper was retained by the Ministry to work in the areas of documentation and border issues, which he said she has “unique skills” to match.
The Minister noted that as Director General and a staff member within the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Harper had worked very closely on the matters pertaining to sovereignty, which they have already begun capitalising on.
Prior to her entering the political arena, Ambassador Harper held the post of Director General at the Foreign Affairs Ministry since 2001. She was also an Ambassador to the Caribbean Community (Caricom) at the time of retirement.
Harper, who also holds the Golden Achievement Award, began her career at the Foreign Affairs Ministry in 1976 as a Registry Clerk and moved her way up to hold the title of Director General.
She has previously served as Director, Department of the Americas and Asia at the Foreign Affairs Ministry from 1996 to 2001; a Consular at the Guyana High Commission in London from 1991 to 1995, and Head of the Frontier Division, Foreign Affairs Ministry from 1990 to 1991.
Described as a distinguished public servant, Harper has been a member of Guyana’s delegation to various meeting of Caricom, the Latin American Economic System, the Association of Caribbean States, United Nations, the Commonwealth and the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), among others.
Harper has served in several other positions as Ambassador to Caricom (2003 to present), Non-resident High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago (2003-present), Non-resident High Commissioner to Barbados (2004-present), Non-resident High Commissioner to Grenada (2006-present and Non-resident High Commissioner to St Kitts and Nevis.
