President George Manneh Weah on Wednesday commissioned Dee-Maxwell Kemayah as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Liberia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, its Organs as well as Cuba
Mr. Kemayah, Chairman of Dr. Mills Jones’s Movement for Economic Empowerment (MOVEE) party, previously served as Deputy Foreign Minister for Administration in the ruling CDC government.
He replaces former Liberian UN Ambassador Lewis Brown, who was removed from the post by President Weah recently.
An Executive Mansion press release says the Liberian leader performed the commissioning ceremony with a call on Ambassaador Kemayah to justify the confidence reposed in him.
President Weah indicated that Mr. Kemayah’s preferment to represent Liberia at the United Nations was not on the basis of the bond of amity subsisting between them; rather it is for the value and due diligence he demonstrated over a very short period of time in government.
Dr. Weah reminded the newly commissioned Representative to the United Nations of the glee that greeted his preferment from partners, and expressed the hope that he would represent the country very well.
“We want to urge you to do your best because only your best is required. Remember we have allies and the friends of our allies are our friends,” President Weah cautioned the new UN Ambassador, as an apparent reminder to Mr. Kemayah as to how he conducts his activities at the UN on behalf of the country.
In his response, Ambassador Kemayah thanked President Weah for his preferment, which he said is indicative of the values and principles the Liberian leader brings to the Presidency of Liberia.
He then committed himself to representing the interest of the country through “our skills of consultations and coordination before decisions are made.”
According to Ambassador Kemayah, he will leave no stone unturned in representing the interest of the country as well as President Weah whose direct representative he is.
The new UN Ambassador also used the occasion to laud President Weah for appointing citizens of Lofa County, where he hails, into his government in spite of the less-encouraging votes he obtained during the 2017 elections.
“History will judge me if I don’t recognize your preferment of the people of Lofa including me to positions of trust into your government,” he noted.
Mr. Kemayah, who supported the CDC during the runoff elections, said his appointment as well as others from opposition parties demonstrates that President Weah is a leader of the people.
The new Liberian Ambassdor to the UN some time ago served as President of the Liberia Business Association (LIBA).