Cocktails With – Janice Miller
It’s a week to go before Jamaica’s new High Commissioner-designate to Canada Janice Miller heads off for her four-year tenure to rep The Rock in Canada. After an 18-year-long career in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, the diplomatic appointee who deftly juggles diplomatic responsibilities alongside spousal and mum duties to research officer hubby Donald Miller and their 10-year-old and 14-year-old daughters Rachel and Rianna, is gung-ho about strengthening bilateral relations.
In the midst of last-minute briefings, Miller squeezed us into her busy agenda for drinks at the Blend Bar + Lounge at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel to talk diplomacy, career expectations, and which world leaders she would most like to have dinner with.
What are you drinking?
A glass of Robert Mondavi Pinot Noir.
What do you enjoy the most about your job?
I enjoy the fact that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade works in various ways to promote and protect the interests of Jamaica while at the same time facilitating, in oftentimes unnoticed ways, Jamaica’s growth and development. I also enjoy working with my colleague members of the Foreign Service who are very professional and competent and who share a passion for Jamaica. The work of a Foreign Service officer is dynamic — no two days can ever be described as exactly the same. The opportunity to interact with Jamaicans from all walks of life, as well as exposure to different situations also make it a fulfilling career.
What nudged you in the direction of a career in the Foreign Service?
I benefited from free tuition paid for by the Government while I was a student at the University of the West Indies. My late father had always reminded me of the need to give back, and so I was determined to join the Public Service when I graduated. My study of history and later international relations made the Foreign Service a logical choice.
What are you most looking forward to in Ottawa, Canada?
I look forward to continuing to build on the important and special relationship that Jamaica shares with Canada. As you know, this is a relationship that has spanned many, many years, — centuries even — and is best exemplified by the contribution that fish from Canadian waters has made to our national dish! In addition, I will be working, along with the relevant Jamaican governmental entities and our local private sector, to promote Jamaica as a preferred tourism and investment destination as well as exploring new opportunities for trade. I also look forward to working with the 300,000-plus Jamaicans who have made Canada their home and who are contributing in various ways to the development of both Canada and Jamaica.
Will it be easy to spend a few years away from home?
No, it will not! I am already starting to feel homesick and will miss family, friends and the food! At the same time, I am looking forward to my new job which will be filled with numerous opportunities and new experiences as well as the prospect of exploring Canada with my family. I have heard that Ottawa, and Canada as a whole, is quite beautiful. I will be kept very busy and so I expect that the time will pass by very quickly.
How do you unwind?
I grab a book and curl up on the sofa at home. Or I take a long walk and let my thoughts wander.
What’s playing on your iPod or car stereo?
When I am not listening to the news in the car, I tune in to Fyah 105 FM which plays contemporary pop and Jamaican music.
Flats or stilettos?
Hmm. After living for four years in New York (I was at the Permanent Mission of Jamaica to the United Nations) and walking up and down all the time, I have come to appreciate comfort in a pair of shoes, which would make flats the easy answer. At the same time, I do wear heels quite a bit. Could I take the middle ground and say wedges?
Who does your hair?
Adolph ‘Adolfo’ Raynor.
What perfume are you spraying right now?
Bvlgari Rose Essentielle.
What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
“Love many, trust a few, always paddle your own canoe”, ie value friends and relationships, be careful in all that you do, and don’t be afraid to be your own person.
Which five words best describe Janice?
Friendly, reliable, loyal, adaptable, multitasker.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Hopefully still working in the Jamaican Foreign Service continuing my career.
Last book you read…
I’m a mystery fan, so I believe the last book I read was Banker by Dick Francis.
Share five places in your travel black book:
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Tangier, Morocco
Tromso, Norway
Durban, South Africa
Bogotá, Colombia
Which five world leaders would you invite to dinner and why?
1. Angela Merkel, Germany: She’s one of the most powerful female leaders in the world and Germany is a very important country, part of the EU. She has done quite a bit to lead Germany out of the recession; plus, she’s an avid football fan.
2. Barack Obama, USA: I’m hoping he’d bring his wife! I really like and admire Michelle Obama; I like what she stands for especially for young people and I like the relationship they share. And of course, Mr Obama is a very respected world leader and Jamaica has a very close relationship with the United States.
3. Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Canada: It would be a very good opportunity to further strengthen relations between Jamaica and Canada. He is very politically savvy because he has been prime minister since 2006.
4. Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, Jamaica: My prime minister is a prominent female world leader whose great personality would make her a fabulous dinner guest.
5. Dilma Rousseff, Brazil: I quite admire Dilma Rousseff as a female leader of one of the largest countries in this hemisphere. Her history as a freedom fighter for the working class would make her an interesting dinner guest.
HANDBAG ESSENTIALS
BlackBerry Passport phone, card holder, black-ink pen, wooden fan from the Philippines and a notebook from Norway.