WASHINGTON, D.C., January 5, 2010 - Grenada’s Permanent Representative to the Organisation of American States (OAS), Ambassador Gillian Bristol on Tuesday assumed the Vice Chair of the Permanent Council. The Grenadian diplomat took over from Ambassador Jorge Skinner-Klee, Representative of Guatemala while Ambassador José Enrique Castillo of Costa Rica assumed the chairmanship from Colombia’s Luis Alfonso Hoyos. The ceremony, held in the office of the President of the Permanent Council at the Organization’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., was also attended by José Miguel Insulza, the OAS Secretary General; Albert Ramdin, the OAS Assistant Secretary General; Luis Diego Escalante, the Ambassador of Costa Rica to the White House; and the Permanent Representatives to the OAS of Brazil, the United States and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as officials from the General Secretariat and Permanent Missions. The Chairmanship of the Permanent Council is exercised successively by the head representatives of Member States, in alphabetical order of the Member States’ names in Spanish; the Vice Chair is exercised in the same way, though following reverse alphabetical order. Both positions are held for a period of three months. This will be a very crucial period under the chairmanship of Ambassadors Castillo and Bristol in which the leadership of the Permanent Council will be tested. The OAS will have to consider the suspension of Honduras last June and the recent elections which have not been recognised by the hemispheric body. The current term of the OAS Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza expires in May. Preparations for the General Assembly in June and the budget are also among issues to be discussed by the Permanent Council.