Newly-appointed St. Vincent and the Grenadines ambassador to the United Nations, Rhonda King, says that despite its size and small mission staff, her country has become a “respected voice” within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) caucus at the U.N. and “well beyond.”
King replaces Amb. Camillo Gonsalves who has returned home to become the become the country’s foreign minister.
In her maiden address Saturday at a town hall meeting in Brooklyn, at the friends of Crown Heights Educational Center in Brooklyn, King said that since her arrival last month at the UN, she has been stopped daily by people wishing to compliment the work of her country’s mission to the U.N. and for being “an important and respected voice within the institution.”
In presenting the new envoy to the New York audience, Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves described King, born in Curacao, Netherlands Antilles to Vincentian parents, as “highly qualified” for the position.
“Rhonda is a very professional woman,” Dr. Gonsalves said. “You know I would not give the job at the U.N. to anyone who is not versed in diplomacy and supportive of the government’s policies, and I’m very happy she’s the permanent representative.”
King has a first degree in mathematics and chemistry, a professional qualification in accounting, and is a “qualified auditor,” working with the renowned accounting firm, KPMG. She also has a degree in actuarial sciences, and is a trained manager, having worked for companies in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the United States.
King has had an “extensive career in academia and publishing, as well as in business development and financial management,” Dr. Gonsalves said. Since 2010, the U.N. said she served as honorary consul for Portugal to the St. Vincent and Grenadines government, working concurrently as the chairperson of National Investment Promotions, Inc. in Kingstown.
Along with being a business owner, strategy consultant and editor-in-chief of a literary journal, the U.N. said King taught English as a foreign language in China between 2002 and 2003.
With a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry and mathematics from the State University of New York at Albany, the U.N. said King is also a certified management accountant and certified financial manager.
