Paulette Bethel

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Paulette A. Bethel is a Bahamian diplomat and international civil servant. She began her career in 1980 with the United Nations in Vienna as Assistant Social Affairs Officer, then joined the Bahamas Ministry of Foreign Affairs and held many diplomatic posts for The Bahamas. She served as Special Adviser to the Office of the President of the 70th UN General Assembly and was the Bahamas’ Permanent Representative to the United Nations from March 2003 to March 2013, the first Bahamian woman to hold that post. She also worked as Director of the Department of Fellowships at the Organization of American States (OAS), the first Bahamian to do so.

Bethel earned a BA from the University of Toronto, an MA from Howard University, and a PhD in Sociology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1980. She also earned certificates in Creative Processes Facilitation and International Negotiations. Earlier in her career, she taught sociology at the College of The Bahamas and was chairperson of its Department of Social Sciences. She later worked with the private sector on international financial and corporate services, focusing on risk management and compliance.

In 2007 she led a joint UN field visit to Liberia to assess programs as the country rebuilt after conflict. Her UN work has covered Sustainable Development Goals, climate change, budgets and management. In September 2011 she served as Chef de Cabinet of the Office of the President for the 68th UN General Assembly. In 2013 she was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of The Bahamas to the United Nations.