Odeen Ishmael

Who is Odeen Ishmael?

Odeen Ishmael is a Guyanese diplomat. He is the current Guyanese Ambassador to Kuwait, having been appointed to that post in January 2011. He also served as ambassador to Venezuela and to the United States and as Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States. At the OAS he served for two periods as Chairman of the Permanent Council. In 2009, he was elected to a one-year term as Chairman of the Latin American Council, the political governing body of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System, headquartered in Caracas, Venezuela.

In 1997, Ishmael received the Cacique's Crown of Honour, Guyana's third highest national honor, for his outstanding work in diplomacy. Back in 1974, he was awarded the Gandhi Centenary Gold Medal for academic achievement at the University of Guyana. In January 2002, in Washington DC, he was honored in the United States of America with the Martin Luther King Legacy Award for International Service. The US Congress, in a joint resolution, also paid a special tribute to him in October 2003 just before he completed his service in the United States.

Ishmael's commentaries on international affairs, in particular his analyses of South American integration issues, are being published worldwide. As an author, his has published books dealing with Guyanese history, culture and education; and political developments in Latin America and the Caribbean.