CARICOM deputy sec-general to act when Sir Edwin Carrington retires on Dec. 31

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) announced on Monday that Deputy Secretary-General, Ambassador Lolita Applewhaite, will hold the post of Secretary General from January 1, 2011 following the retirement of Sir Edwin Carrington on December 31 this year.

CARICOM said Applewhaite will hold the position until the appointment of a new Secretary-General.

Applewhaite, who is a Barbadian, has vast experience in the diplomatic service. She is a former Director of the Centre for International Studies at the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies and has served as Deputy Secretary-General of CARICOM since 2003.

A Search Committee chaired by Barbados Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Maxine McClean, will recruit the new Secretary General.

CARICOM leaders have approved the November recommendation of the Bureau for the Search Committee to continue its search, review applications and conduct interviews with a view to submitting its recommendations to the Inter-sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government scheduled to be held in Grenada in late February/early March 2011.