Oliver Mair, the Consul General of Jamaica, is the new Dean of the Caribbean Consular Group in South Florida. He was appointed Consul General at Jamaica’s Consulate General in Miami in October 2018 and is the first to be appointed Dean in more than seven years, according to Consul General of Antigua and Barbuda, Ambassador Gilbert Boustany, who noted that Mair’s leadership is widely recognized throughout the Diaspora community.
Since 2018, Mair has engaged in a record-breaking number of events designed to strengthen the connection of those in the Jamaican Diaspora across the 13 states in the southern United States within his jurisdiction. These included, in addition to Florida, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North and South Carolinas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. He has been recognized for his creative leadership by local and regional entities with several awards. These include the US Senate Congressional Award for the Diaspora and Global Community. He was named Man of the Year in 2020, sharing the award jointly with Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, by the Caribbean National Weekly, one of the top newspapers and online media platforms in South Florida.
Mair is focused on community engagement, displaying this emphasis with various outreach activities where the Caribbean Consular Corp provided aid to areas impacted by natural disasters, such as the hurricanes in Belize, the Bahamas, and the volcanic eruption in St. Vincent. The aid was also extended to Caribbean nationals affected in the southern US. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Consular Corp provided assistance to Caribbean nationals affected by the virus, acquiring shipments of personal protective equipment (PPE) for the region.
Mair continues his efforts to engage Jamaican nationals in the Diaspora in projects of benefit the island’s economy. These include Jamaica’s stock market, tourism, agriculture, and real estate, highlighting investment opportunities in Jamaica and in the Diaspora. The Consulate works with charitable institutions via fundraising initiatives, including alumni associations that work to provide resources in the areas of health, education, and culture to Jamaica.
Through his new role, Mair seeks to serve with his counterparts to benefit the Caribbean and the US in areas of mutual interest, including disaster awareness and preparedness, improvement in trade in commerce, tourism, transportation, health, and education. He said he is looking forward to achieving great results for those nations that are working jointly and emphasized that through increased numbers and stronger connections, more can be achieved.
