Larry Leon Palmer Explained

Larry Leon Palmer
Office:United States Ambassador to Grenada
President:Barack Obama
Term Start:June 28, 2012
Term End:January 19, 2016
Successor:Linda Taglialatela
Office1:United States Ambassador to Saint Kitts and Nevis
President1:Barack Obama
Term Start1:June 26, 2012
Term End1:January 19, 2016
Successor1:Linda Taglialatela
Office2:United States Ambassador to Antigua and Barbuda
President2:Barack Obama
Term Start2:June 25, 2012
Term End2:January 19, 2016
Successor2:Linda Taglialatela
Office3:United States Ambassador to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
President3:Barack Obama
Term Start3:June 7, 2012
Term End3:January 19, 2016
Successor3:Linda Taglialatela
Office4:United States Ambassador to Saint Lucia
President4:Barack Obama
Term Start4:June 4, 2012
Term End4:January 19, 2016
Successor4:Linda Taglialatela
Office5:United States Ambassador to Dominica
President5:Barack Obama
Term Start5:May 30, 2012
Term End5:January 19, 2016
Successor5:Linda Taglialatela
Office6:United States Ambassador to Barbados
President6:Barack Obama
Term Start6:May 22, 2012
Term End6:January 19, 2016
Successor6:Linda Taglialatela
Office7:Special Representative to the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
President7:Barack Obama
Term Start7:May 22, 2012
Term End7:January 19, 2016
Successor7:Linda Taglialatela
Office8:United States Ambassador to Honduras
President8:George W. Bush
Term Start8:October 8, 2002
Term End8:May 7, 2005
Predecessor8:Frank Almaguer
Successor8:Charles Ford
Birth Date:13 July 1949
Birth Place:Augusta, Georgia, U.S.
Alma Mater:Emory University
Texas Southern University
Indiana University Bloomington

Larry Leon Palmer (July 13, 1949 – April 21, 2021)[1] [2] was an American former diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean from 2012 to 2015.[3] He was the United States Ambassador to Honduras from 2002 to 2005. He also served as the President of the Inter-American Foundation from 2005 to June 2010.[4] [5]

Background

Larry Palmer was born in Augusta, Georgia. He graduated from Emory University with a B.A. in 1970 and completed his graduate training at Texas Southern University (M.Ed., African History, 1973) and Indiana University Bloomington (Ed.D., Higher Education Administration and African Studies, 1978). While at Emory, he was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.

Career

Palmer served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Liberia, West Africa from 1971 to 1973. He then worked as assistant director of financial aid at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville (1973–1974), and as a professor of history at Cuttington College in Suakoko, Liberia (1974–1976), and at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina (1978–1981).

Palmer entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1982. He served as vice consul in the Dominican Republic (1982–1984), and then as personnel officer in Montevideo, Uruguay, and Asuncion, Paraguay, from 1984 to 1986. He worked in the State Department as staff assistant to the Assistant Secretary for African Affairs from 1986 to 1987 and then served as counselor for administration in Freetown, Sierra Leone from 1987 to 1989.[6]

In 1989, Palmer became a Pearson Fellow, serving as assistant to the president of the University of Texas at El Paso. His portfolio was advancing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), creating faculty and student exchange opportunities in universities throughout Mexico, and serving as university consultant for International Affairs. At the end of two years as a Pearson Fellow, Palmer left to serve as personnel officer in Seoul, South Korea, (1991–1994), and later served as counselor for administration in the Dominican Republic (1994–1998).[6]

From 1998 to 1999, he attended the Senior Seminar. He arrived in Quito, Ecuador to begin a tour as Deputy Chief of Mission in August 1999. He finished his tour in Quito as Chargé d'Affaires In July 2002.

Honduras, Venezuela and Eastern Caribbean

Palmer was sworn in as United States Ambassador to Honduras on September 9, 2002, by Secretary of State Colin Powell and delivered his credentials to the Honduran President Ricardo Maduro on October 9, 2002.[7] On June 28, 2010, President Obama nominated Palmer as United States Ambassador to Venezuela.[8] However, a start date as new ambassador to Venezuela wasn't announced.[9] On September 19, 2010, President Hugo Chávez announced on his weekly TV program that he would not allow Larry Palmer to take up his post in Caracas. Chávez's refusal is based on Palmer having recently told a US senator that morale in the Venezuelan army was low and that members of Chávez's government had ties to leftist Colombian rebels.[10] On December 28, 2010, Chavez defied the Obama administration's appointment of Palmer as ambassador to Venezuela and flatly refused him, accusing him of having made disrespectful remarks about Venezuela. In response, on December 29 the U.S. revoked the visa of Venezuela's ambassador, Bernardo Álvarez Herrera.[11]

Palmer was appointed to serve as the United States Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean in 2012. In this post, he served concurrently as the ambassador to Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

References

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Notes and References

  1. http://www.blackpast.org/aah/palmer-larry-l-1949 Palmer, Larry L. (1949–)
  2. Web site: 2021-04-22. Statement on the Death of Former U.S. Ambassador to Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean, and the OECS Larry Palmer. 2021-04-23. U.S. Embassy in Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean, and the OECS. en-US.
  3. .
  4. [Inter-American Foundation]
  5. .
  6. White House, 5 June 2002, President Bush to Nominate Seven Individuals to Serve in His Administration
  7. US State department, Larry L. Palmer
  8. Web site: President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts, 6/28/10 | The White House . 2010-06-28 . . . 2011-04-11.
  9. Web site: Molinski . Dan . U.S. Names Larry Palmer New Venezuela Ambassador Amid Strained Relations. - WSJ.com . Online.wsj.com . 2011-02-03 . 2011-04-11.
  10. Web site: Chávez rejects newly nominated US ambassador to Caracas . BuenosAiresHerald.com . 2010-08-09 . 2011-04-11.
  11. News: Lee. M. J.. Chavez's ambassador is expelled. Politico. December 30, 2010.