Seychelles/EU-Assembly endorses appointment of Barry Faure as ambassador |05 April 2006

A motion seeking the Assembly's approval of the appointment was presented by the Leader of Government Business, Honourable Patrick Herminie.

Mr Faure, who is 41 years old, will be posted in Brussels, Belgium.

The appointment of Mr Faure, who is the elected member of the National Assembly for the Anse Royale district, received the approval of all members of the majority SPPF party, while members of the Opposition voted against the motion.

Mr Faure, who currently holds the post of Technical Advisor in the Department of Economic Planning, started his professional career as a supply teacher at the Baie Lazare Secondary School in 1982. From 1992 to 1995 he held the post of First Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the responsibility for the Americas, Europe and Africa.

In addition to teaching and diplomacy, Mr Faure has a long career in financial management and economic development. He has occupied various business-related posts in the government, namely with the Ministry of Industries and International Business and the Ministry of Economic Planning.

He has also been a prominent figure representing Seychelles on various EU committees such as being the chairman of the EU Loans Committee from 1995 to 2002 and to date he is Seychelles' representative to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly where he holds the post of vice-chairman of the assembly. As a member of the ACP-EU joint assembly, he has been at the forefront of several negotiations regarding fisheries cooperation on behalf of Seychelles.

Mr Faure started his political career at the very young age of 27 years. He has been the MNA for Anse Royale district for the past 13 years and has over the past ten years been the chairman of the National Assembly's International Affairs Committee (IAC).

Going over what he described as Mr Faure's "robust and successful political and professional career," Honourable Herminie said he met all the necessary criteria to represent Seychelles as an ambassador and that the government could not have chosen a better person to negotiate on its behalf with the EU.

While agreeing that Mr Faure did have the necessary academic qualifications to represent Seychelles as an ambassador, members in the Opposition who intervened said that he should have resigned as the MNA for Anse Royale prior to agreeing to take up the new post. According to them, he cannot be both a politician and an ambassador to the EU at the same time.

Refuting these arguments as “baseless and childish”, Hon. Herminie said that once accredited to the EU – a procedure that should take between two to three months – Mr Faure will resign as the MNA for Anse Royale and from his post with the Department of Economic Planning.

"Once accredited he will become a full-time ambassador with the EU and an employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He will be entitled to only one salary and not three as the Opposition is claiming," Hon Herminie said.

He stressed that the appointment was in accordance with articles 64 and 81 of the Constitution.

He also argued that contrary to what the Opposition was saying, in the US the post of ambassador was a political appointment and that in the UK most diplomats are themselves politicians.

With regards to arguments that Mr Faure's appointment will, for the remaining 20 months of his mandate, leave the Anse Royale district without a political  representative, Hon. Herminie said the date for an election is normally set by the Electoral Commissioner. He said the Opposition should be ready for any eventuality.

Hon. Marie-Louise Potter and Charles Decomarmond spoke in favour of the appointment, while Hon. Hardy Lucas, Bernard Georges, Nicholas Prea, David Pierre and the Leader of the Opposition, Wavel Ramkalawan, spoke against.