Georgetown: United States Ambassador Perry Holloway and his wife Rosaura arrived in Guyana Thursday. President Barack Obama has selected Ambassador Perry Holloway as a nominee for the posting in Guyana. Holloway was most recently stationed in Afghanistan, where he served as the head of the US Political Military Office, assisting the Afghan Government with transition and development in the areas of military and security. He also served in the Latin American region and was the Deputy Chief of Mission in both Columbia and Paraguay. Additionally, he spent a great deal of his career countering narcotics issues in this region. Holloway’s experience in South America and the Western Hemisphere Bureau was taken into consideration in his nomination.
Chargé ďAffaires of the United States Embassy, Bryan Hunt had noted that the ambassadors “experience in working with countries that are dealing with security challenges like Columbia would have been taken into account given the heavy Caribbean Basin Security Initiative investment that we are making in tandem with the Government here to improve the security situation. “Certainly his experience in counternarcotics would have been taken into account given that we do spend quite a bit of foreign assistance money here annually to help the Guyana Government to deal with the narcotics threats.”
Asked whether the US opted to post a ‘narcotic specialist here because of Guyana’s seemingly high rate of narcotics trafficking, the Chargé ď Affaires explained that the nomination was made by the US President and each president has his own criteria as to how he selects a nominee.
He said the decision was based most likely on the President’s preference, that is, whom he wishes to send and the suitability of envoy for their postings, that is who would be most effective in representing the US interests in that setting.
He added that the State Department’s only role in this process was to make the White House aware of what ambassadorial postings were going to be vacant.
The President and his staff then decide which ones they want the State Department to submit a career nominee for and which ones they want to use as political appointees.
“Some postings, like Guyana, have almost always been a career Foreign Service Officer, other postings like Australia has almost always been a political appointee.
Then there are some like Pakistan, where I served, where it has gone back and forth between career ambassadors and political appointees depending on the White House,” he said.
Career
Ambassador Holloway, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, most recently served as Political-Military Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan (2013 – July 2014). Known as a talented leader, consensus builder and manager, with broad, high-level policy experience in Latin America and in managing the interagency process, Ambassador Holloway will bring essential skills to the task of furthering bilateral relations with the Government of Guyana, an important U.S. partner in Latin America and within the Organization of American States.
Previously, Ambassador Holloway served in the Department of State as Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy Bogota, Colombia (2010 – 2013), Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy Asuncion, Paraguay (2009 – 2010), Director, Narcotics Affairs Section, U.S. Embassy Bogota, Columbia (2007 – 2009), Deputy Director, Narcotics Affairs Section, U.S. Embassy Bogota, Colombia (2005 – 2007), Andean Counterdrug Initiative Coordinator, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Washington, D.C. (2004 – 2005), Director, Narcotics Affairs Section, U.S. Embassy Guatemala City, Guatemala (2000 – 2003), General Services Officer, U.S. Embassy Quito, Ecuador (1997 – 2000), Administrative Officer, U.S. Consulate Tijuana, Mexico (1994 – 1997), General Services Officer, U.S. Embassy San Salvador, El Salvador (1992 – 1994), Ambassador’s Staff Assistant, U.S. Embassy Bogota, Colombia (1990 – 1991) and Consular Officer, U.S. Embassy Bogota, Colombia (1989 – 1990). Before joining the Foreign Service, he was a manager of Radio Shack stores in Georgia and South Carolina. Ambassador Holloway earned a B.A. in foreign languages from Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, a M.A. in International Business Sciences from the University of South Carolina, and a M.A. in National Resources Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in Washington, D.C. He is the recipient three Senior Foreign Service Performance Awards, eight Superior Honor Awards and two Meritorious Awards from the Department of State. He speaks fluent Spanish. Ambassador Holloway, and his wife Rosaura, have two children.
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