Ronald Sanders (diplomat)

Sir Ronald Michael Sanders  (born 26 January 1948) is an Antiguan Barbudan diplomat, academic, former broadcast-journalist, and the current Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States and to the Organization of American States (OAS) since 2015. He holds the unique distinction of being the first person, since the OAS enlarged its membership in 1962, to serve as Chairman of the Permanent Council of the OAS for an unprecedented three terms. He completed his highly successful third term on December 31, 2023, having played a widely recognized role in guiding the work of the Permanent Council in the peaceful transition of government in Guatemala on 14 January 2024.

He is also the non-resident High Commissioner to Canada since 2017. He served twice as Antigua's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (1983–1987, 1996–2004) as well as ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO) (1997–2004). He was a member and Rapporteur of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group (2010–2011) that produced a seminal report entitled, "A Commonwealth of the People: Time for Urgent Reform", which laid out a plan of action to make the Commonwealth effective and relevant. He was Antigua and Barbuda's nominee to be secretary general of the Commonwealth at the election held at the 2015 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. He is a senior research fellow (on leave) at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London, and a senior fellow (on leave) at Massey College at the University of Toronto.

He is a speaker at conventions and conferences on global financial services issues and on Latin America and Caribbean states in the global political-economy and the Commonwealth.

Background
Sanders was born in Guyana. He has a master's degree in international relations from the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom and attended Boston University in the United States. He was also a visiting fellow at Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford University in the United Kingdom (1987–1988).

Sanders was a successful broadcaster in the 1970s, becoming general manager of the Guyana Broadcasting Service in 1973 at the early age of 25. Simultaneously, he helped to found the Caribbean Broadcasting Union, and the Caribbean News Agency, serving on the Executive of both bodies. He also served as the youngest elected member of the Executive Board of UNESCO and the first person from a micro state (1983-1985) to do so. Having been one of the first Caribbean negotiators with the OECD on its "Harmful Tax Policy" in 1990, he went on to become the chairman of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force against drug trafficking and money laundering. Since 2010, he has been a member of "The Friends of the Democratic Charter", a group of leading personalities from Latin America and the Caribbean, established by former US President Jimmy Carter, to oversee compliance with the Inter-American Democratic Charter.

Between 2002–2004, Sanders was Antigua and Barbuda's chief foreign affairs representative. He holds the distinction of being the only representative of a small state to lead a successful trade dispute at the World Trade Organization.

In 2004, a World Trade Organization arbitration panel found in favour of the arguments he led as Antigua and Barbuda's ambassador in a case against the United States of America over cross-border access for Internet gaming and a violation of the General Agreement on Trade in Services.

Commonwealth Secretary General Elections 2015
Sanders was perceived to be the frontrunner to become the 6th Commonwealth Secretary-General and was backed by the majority of CARICOM nations heading into a meeting of Commonwealth Heads of Government in Malta in November 2015. There were three candidates: Sanders, proposed by Antigua and Barbuda with the support of the majority of Caribbean countries; Baroness Patricia Scotland, a member of the British House of Lords and a former British government minister, nominated by Dominica where she was born and backed by the British government; and Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba, of Botswana, a former Deputy Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Sanders' campaign for the post was torpedoed the day before the election by a story in British newspaper The Daily Telegraph that had been touted to other media but rejected by them. The story was based on an eleven-year old, unsubstantiated allegation made in an unpublished report by the political party then in office in Antigua and Barbuda. At the time, the allegations were roundly condemned by lawyers in the region. The story also paid scant attention to a published letter in June 2015 by the police commissioner of Antigua and Barbuda saying that the police had no interest in Sir Ronald and that Antigua's director of public prosecutions had ruled that the allegations against him were “seriously defective” and “disclose no offence”. In the end, both Sanders and Masire-Mwamba lost to Patricia Scotland.

Sanders went on to continue his diplomatic career as Antigua and Barbuda's ambassador to the United States and the Organization of American States (OAS).

University of London Inquiry into Commonwealth Studies
In January 2021, Sanders was again pressed into Commonwealth Service when he was appointed by the Vice Chancellor of the University of London to serve as a member and rapporteur of a committee to conduct an inquiry into the future of Commonwealth Studies at the University. The committee presented its report in July 2021 and all of its recommendations, particularly to maintain Commonwealth Studies, were accepted by the University Council.

Representation at the Organization of American States
In August 2015, Sanders was appointed as Antigua and Barbuda's ambassador to the United States and the Organization of American States (OAS). From January to April 2016, he served a highly praised period as Chair of the Permanent Council of the 34-member Organization of American States. The Permanent Council is the decision-making body responsible for the affairs of the OAS between meetings of foreign ministers of the member countries. In January/February 2016, he also led a Special OAS mission to Haiti that helped to solve a constitutional and political impasse that threatened violence and political disruption; a role for which he is highly regarded within Haiti and by the Haitian diaspora.

In April 2021, Sanders was appointed Vice Chair of the OAS Permanent Council for a three-month term. After the sudden death of Chair Elisa Ruiz Díaz, he served as Chair for the remainder of the term. On October 1, 2023, he assumed the Chair of the Permanent Council of the OAS for a historic third term, which ended on December 31, 2023. He held several Special Meetings of the Permanent Council on challenges being experienced in the Americas such as climate change, irregular migration, guns, gangs, and violence, in addition to other issues of democracy and security confronting the Member States of the OAS, particularly Guatemala. In the latter case, he played an important role in ensuring that the Government of Guatemala cooperated with the OAS Permanent Council and the Secretary-General of the Organization, leading to a peaceful transition of government on 14 January 2024.

Role in Guatemala 2023-2024
In December 2023, Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei Falla requested Ambassador Sanders, as Chair of the OAS Permanent Council, to visit Guatemala in the company of OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro to hold discussions on the leadership transition process in the country. The transition process was contentious due to efforts by Guatemala’s Public Ministry to overturn the results of the first and second round of elections held on June 25, 2023 and August 20, 2023, respectively. In these elections, the majority voted for Bernardo Arévalo as President and Karin Herrera as Vice President to take office on January 14, 2024. The official visit to Guatemala occurred between December 15–16, 2023. Along with the Secretary General, Sanders held discussions with President Giammattei, senior judges of Guatemala’s Constitutional Court and Vice President-Elect Karin Herrera. Sanders delivered his report on December 20, 2023 to the Permanent Council, and announced, among other things, that the Government of Guatemala had agreed to invite a good offices mission of representatives from the Permanent Council to visit Guatemala, under Article 18 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter.

Subsequently, a group of five ambassadors from the Permanent Council of the OAS, including Sanders, visited Guatemala from January 12 to January 14, 2024 to hold meetings with relevant stakeholders and to attend the inauguration ceremony of President Bernardo Arévalo and Vice President Karin Herrera on January 14, 2024. Sanders participated in meetings with judges of Guatemala’s Constitutional Court, the Human Rights Ombudsman, the president of the Supreme Court of Justice, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mario Búcaro, President-elect Bernardo Arévalo, members of the 48 Cantones and other indigenous and ancestral authorities, and members of the Coordinating Committee of Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial, and Financial Associations (CACIF). Sanders’ role in helping to guide Guatemala to a peaceful transition of government was praised by key players in Guatemala, including the foreign minister, Mario Búcaro Flores who, on 21 December 2023, expressed “heartfelt appreciation” for Sanders’ “exceptional leadership as Chair of the Permanent Council”, saying “your guidance has been instrumental in addressing critical issues and advancing the wellbeing of our citizens”.

Service to Antigua and Barbuda since 1978
Sir Ronald is one of only two surviving members of the three delegations from Antigua and Barbuda that participated in the Antigua and Barbuda Constitutional Conference with the British Government at Lancaster House, London in December 1980. Earlier, along with then Minister of External Affairs Lester Bird (later, Sir Lester) he had drafted the Memorandum to the British Government petitioning for Antigua and Barbuda’s independence, and participated in talks with the British Foreign Office Minister, responsible for the Caribbean, Nicholas Ridley.

From 1978 to 1982, he worked with a team of local and foreign technical experts to develop a 5-year economic plan for Antigua, and he served as a key adviser to the Minister of External Affairs, attending regional and hemispheric meetings of Foreign Ministers and Heads of Government. He helped to establish the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, writing the first conceptual paper in a speech, delivered by Lester Bird, which was dubbed “The Thorn Bird Speech”. Subsequently, together with Sierra Leonese lawyer, Abass Bundu, as technical assistance from the Commonwealth Secretariat, he participated in meetings with all the Heads of Government and Opposition leaders in preparation for the formulation of the Treaty, establishing the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States.

He was then appointed as Minister-Counsellor in the Antigua and Barbuda Permanent Mission to the UN in 1982, where he negotiated diplomatic relations with China. Subsequently, he became High Commissioner to London and concurrently Ambassador to several European countries including France and Germany. While serving as Antigua and Barbuda's High Commissioner to London, he was one of three Commonwealth High Commissioners elected in 1985 to liaise with the UN Committee on countering Apartheid propaganda. He left the Foreign Service formally in 1987 but continued pro bono work for the government of Antigua and Barbuda before returning, once again, as High Commissioner to London from 1996 to 2004. He also served as Ambassador to several UN bodies, including the World Trade Organization where he led a successful case against the US for a breach of the General Agreement on Trade in Services. He holds the distinction of being the only representative of a small state to lead a successful trade dispute at the World Trade Organization. During this period, he also led Antigua and Barbuda’s negotiations with the Organization for Cooperation in Economic Development (OECD and the Financial Action Task Force, succeeding in keeping Antigua and Barbuda off a blacklist.   He also negotiated the lifting of a financial advisory against Antigua and Barbuda by the US and UK governments.

Between 2002–2004, Sanders was Antigua and Barbuda's chief foreign affairs representative.

Family
Sir Ronald Sanders is the younger brother of the late Joseph Sanders LLM (Lond.) LLB (UWO) Barrister (England) International and Constitutional Lawyer, a former Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Deputy High Commissioner to Canada for Guyana. Both his parents are deceased. He has three sisters who are Jean Reis, Dorothy Etter and Sandra Millen. His sister Jean died in 2022.

He is married to Susan Sanders, the eldest daughter of former Commonwealth Secretary-General Sir Shridath Ramphal and Lady Ramphal.

Awards
In 1997, he was awarded the dignity of Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Head of the Commonwealth. This was followed in 2002 by his promotion by Queen Elizabeth II as Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG). He was also honoured as Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of the Nation (KCN) in 2001 in the first cohort of national honours awarded by the Nation of Antigua and Barbuda. He was also bestowed with the dignity of Commandeur dans l’Ordre des Palmes Academiques in April 2002 by the Republic of France. In December 2012, he was awarded with one of the highest honours of Australia by the Government of Australia as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his “service to Australian relations, particularly concerning Commonwealth issues and advancing the interests of small developing states of the Caribbean region.”

In 2014, the University of the West Indies conferred on him an Honorary Doctorate, specifically the degree of Doctor of Letters (D.Ltt), for his significant contributions to the Caribbean region through his relentless advocacy for Caribbean unity and the advancement of the Caribbean Community regional integration movement.

Publications
He has written several chapters and Forewords in books, as well as articles in academic journals, on the politics and economies of the Caribbean and the Commonwealth. His book, “Crumbled Small: The Commonwealth Caribbean in World Politics”, published in 2005 by Hansib, UK, remains necessary reading for institutions, academics, diplomats, students and others who are interested in Caribbean affairs. He also wrote "Antigua and Barbuda, 1966-1981: Transition, Trial, Triumph" published in 1984 by Caribbean Communications and "Broadcasting in Guyana" published by Routledge and Kegan Paul, London in 1978.

Sanders is regarded as a leading voice on matters related to the Caribbean, the Commonwealth and the OAS. His academic writings have been published extensively, particularly on the Commonwealth and small states. Additionally, since 2004 he has written over 1,000 columns, published in leading Caribbean newspapers and by online global news portals, on the Caribbean, Latin America, the United States, and the Commonwealth.