Greater Georgetown, Guyana – Prime Minister of Grenada the Honourable Tillman Thomas assumed the Chairmanship of the Caribbean Community on January 1, 2011 replacing the Honourable Bruce Golding, Prime Minister of Jamaica.
Prime Minister Thomas will be in the chair until 30 June 2011 when he will be succeeded by the Honourable Dr Denzil Douglas, Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis. The two leaders along with Prime Minister Golding and the CARICOM Secretary-General (ag) Her Excellency Lolita Applewhaite comprise the Bureau of Conference of Heads of Government for the next six months.
In one of his first acts as Chairman of the Community, Prime Minister Thomas announced in his New Year’s Message that the Heads of Government had agreed to bestow the Region’s highest award the Order of the Caribbean Community (OCC) on recently retired CARICOM Secretary-General, His Excellency Sir Edwin Carrington. Sir Edwin retired on December 31, 2010 after 18 years and five months in office.
