Her Excellency Ambassador Evadne Coye, CD

Permanent Secretary

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade

Her Excellency Ambassador Evadne Coye, CD, newly appointed Permanent Secretary, will take up office in November 2009.

She succeeds Ambassador Gail Mathurin who is now the Director General in the Office of Trade Negotiations, the former Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM).  

Ambassador Coye is a career diplomat. She joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade in 1975, receiving her first posting as a Head of Mission in 1992 when she was appointed resident Ambassador to Mexico while being accredited to Belize, Central America and Panama.

Ambassador Coye has also been Non-resident Ambassador to Argentina and Uruguay. Prior to this, she served with the Jamaican Mission to the United Nations, New York, the Jamaican Embassy, Venezuela; and Jamaica’s Permanent Mission to the Organization of American States (OAS) where she was Deputy Permanent Representative.

Ambassador Coye was appointed High Commissioner to Canada in January 2007 after her assignment as Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium and the European Union, Non-resident Ambassador to France, Ireland, Luxemburg, and the Netherlands, as well as High Commissioner to Botswana and South Africa. She previously served as Under-Secretary in the Foreign Ministry with responsibility for Bilateral and Western Hemispheric Relations and subsequently, for Multilateral Relations.

Ambassador Coye is the recipient of a number of Awards including the Cordon del Aguila Azteca, which she received in 1996 from the President of Mexico, for excellence in diplomatic service and the Pelican Award (1992) from the USA Chapter of the UWI graduates, for excellence in representing Jamaican and the Caribbean interests at the international level. She received the national honour Commander of the Order of Distinction in 2002.

She holds B.A. and M.Sc. degrees in International Relations from the University of the West Indies.

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