Henry L. Kimelman

Henry L. Kimelman "was the US Ambassador to Haiti from 1980-1981.

"He has extensive business and government experience throughout the Caribbean area. He was Chairman and CEO of the West Indies Corp. from 1969-1980, President of the Virgin Isle Hotel, the largest resort in St. Thomas, from 1949-1960. He was also Chairman of the Board and CEO of Island Block Corp. from 1955-1980.

"In 1961, he was appointed the Virgin Islands delegate to the Caribbean Organization. In 1962, he was appointed by President Kennedy to the United States Delegation to the Independence Ceremonies of Trinidad/Tobago and Jamaica. He served as the first Commissioner of Commerce, Industry and Tourism for the US Virgin Islands from 1961-1964. He was a Director and Chairman of the Executive Committee of Diner's Club and served on the Board of the American Hotel Association. In 1967, during the Johnson Administration, he was appointed Chief of Staff to the legendary Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall. In 1968, the President appointed him to the Board of the newly created National Parks Foundation.

"He was Chairman of the Board, and Finance Chairman of the McGovern presidential committee in 1972, Deputy Chairman and Finance Chairman of Senator Frank Church’s presidential campaign in 1976, and a senior political adviser to Gary Hart’s presidential campaign in 1988. In 1981, he became a partner at the prestigious investment bank LF Rothschild, headquartered in New York City. He retired in 1990.

"He was the first US Ambassador to be awarded Haiti’s highest civilian decoration, the Grand Cross of Honor and Merit. The Governor of the Virgin Islands proclaimed February 4, 1998, “Henry L. Kimelman Day.” Ambassador Kimelman also has been honored by the government of Israel. In 2004, Dakota Wesleyan University awarded him an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters." 


 * Public Advisory Committee, Population Institute
 * Director, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute