Pamela Coke-Hamilton


Pamela Coke-Hamilton is a Caribbean lawyer and trade expert who has been serving as Executive Director of the International Trade Centre since 2020.

Early life and education

Coke-Hamilton went to school in Jamaica at Manchester High School in Mandeville, Jamaica. She attended the University of the West Indies where she graduated in Economics and International Relations. She went on to study in Washington, D.C. where she became at Doctor of Law at Georgetown University School of Law.

Career

Coke-Hamilton began her career in Jamaica's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade.
From 2007, Coke-Hamilton served as Director of Trade, Tourism and Competitiveness of the Organization of American States. to 2009. In 2008 she gave evidence to the United States International Trade Commission about Caribbean trade.
From 2011 until 2019, Coke-Hamilton served as Executive Director of the Caribbean Export Development Agency. During her time in office, she established a "Caribbean exporter of the Year" and a "Women Empowered through Export Platform".
In 2019 Coke-Hamilton became the director of the International Trade and Commodities at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. She warned in November of that year concerning the lose-lose trade war that was emerging between the USA and China. It was damaging to all the consumers involved and it "compromises the stability of the global economy and future growth".
In 2020, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Coke-Hamilton as Executive Director of the ITC.

Recognition

Coke-Hamilton was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of the West Indies in recognition of the help she had given in helping them to establish a masters course in International Trade Policy.

Publications include