BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – The Barbados  government has named two senior officers in the public service and a veteran trade unionist as the newest member of the country’s diplomatic corps.

Samuel Chandler, who joined the public service in 1971 and most recently served as Permanent Secretary for Foreign Trade in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, has been appointed as Ambassador to Belgium.

The other senior public servant making the transition to the role of diplomat is Sandra Phillips, who has been working as the head of the Ministry’s Strategic Analysis and Implementation Division, and Coordinator of the Council for Investment, Exports, Foreign Exchange and the Diaspora (CIEX). She will take over as Ambassador to Venezuela.

Ambassadors Chandler and Phillips will take up their assignments in August, the government said.

The government also appointed Joseph Goddard as the new Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

“Ambassador Goddard has been a leader in the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) and an active contributor to regional trade unionism for almost three decades. He is well known as a negotiator and committed advocate for the rights of public workers, and has written, lectured and represented on industrial relations nationally, regionally and internationally,” a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade said.

Goddard will head the country’s UN Mission in New York starting September 1.

“He will join a team of foreign service officers dedicated to the task of maintaining and enhancing Barbados’ profile as a model small developing state, known for its strong adherence to human rights and democratic governance and for its consistent representation of the development concerns and priorities of small states,” the statement added.