In a formal swearing-in ceremony held at Government House this Monday, Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs E.P. Chet Greene officially welcomed two seasoned public servants, Samantha Marshall and Joanne Massiah, to the country’s diplomatic corps, outlining a critical role for the newly appointed ambassadors-at-large in advancing the island nation’s international interests. Officiated by Deputy Governor General Sir Clare Roberts, the event marked a key step in the government’s ongoing push to strengthen Antigua and Barbuda’s footprint across regional and global diplomatic spaces.
Both new appointees bring decades of cross-sector experience to their new roles: each is a former government minister and practicing attorney, a combination of qualifications that Greene said made them ideal candidates for the flexible diplomatic position. Unlike traditional ambassadors, who are posted to specific host countries or permanent missions to international organizations, ambassadors-at-large do not hold permanent overseas postings. Instead, they form a flexible, on-call cadre that can be deployed to carry out high-priority special assignments for the state whenever the need arises, Greene explained.
“This is a very deliberate and determined strategy by our government to build a network of ambassadors-at-large that can be activated for targeted missions at any time,” Greene stated during his address to the ceremony. He added that the appointments reflect the Cabinet’s full confidence in Marshall and Massiah’s ability to deliver meaningful contributions to national progress through diplomatic engagement, noting that the turnout of stakeholders at the ceremony underscored the broad support for their selection.
The newly sworn-in ambassadors will hit the ground running with their first official assignments already scheduled for this month. Marshall will lead Antigua and Barbuda’s delegation to an upcoming European Union-Cariforum summit taking place in the Dominican Republic, while Massiah will join the country’s official delegation for back-to-back meetings of the Organization of American States and the Association of Caribbean States, set to be held in Panama. Greene emphasized that immediate tasking was intentional, as diplomatic demands often arise on short notice, requiring envoys to adapt quickly.
A notable highlight of the appointments is the government’s commitment to cross-partisan national service. Massiah most recently served as an opposition senator, a fact Greene highlighted to underscore that national development takes priority over partisan political divides. “What we do here today is to show that our country is not the preserve of a single political organization,” Greene said. “All qualified citizens are called upon to contribute their skills to national service.”
This approach aligns with the merit-based hiring and appointment philosophy long championed by Prime Minister Gaston Browne, Greene added, noting that Browne has consistently pushed to build a unified nation where advancement and opportunity are based on skill and contribution, not political affiliation. Ambassadors-at-large will be tapped to represent Antigua and Barbuda across a wide range of priority policy areas, including tourism stewardship, climate and environmental action, gender equity and women’s issues, among other key national interests.
In closing, Greene urged both new appointees to uphold the high professional standards that earned them their positions, stressing that the government expects them to represent the country with distinction. “There is no greater calling than serving one’s own country,” he added.