Grenada PM Among Those To Say Farewell To Former UN Ambassador

Dr. Lamuel Stanislaus, former Grenada ambassador to the UN, has passed away.

By NAN Staff Writer

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Sept. 23, 2016: Grenada Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell is among the VIPS set to bid adieu to former Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Sir Dr. Lamuel Stanislaus, who passed away last Sunday, September 18, 2016 in Brooklyn, NY.

PM Mitchell along with Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, Councilmember Jumaane Williams, former Councilmember Dr. Una Clarke, Judge Sylvia Ash, Judge Sylvia Hinds-Radix and Grenada Ambassador-At-Large Sir Michael Melnicke among others are set to attend Dr. Stanislaus’ funeral tomorrow, Saturday Sept. 24, 2016 at the St. Francis of Assisi/St. Blaise Church on Nostrand Ave. between Lincoln Road & Maple St. in Brooklyn, NY.

The viewing of the 95-year-old former Ambassador will be from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. and will be followed by a funeral mass from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Sir Stanislaus will be laid to rest at Canarsie Cemetery, 1370 Remsen Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11236.

PM Michell, in remembering Sir Stanislaus  who was Grenada’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Representative at the United Nations from 1985-1990 and again from 1998-2004., recalled that he was at one time Grenada’s longest serving diplomat, before he retired some years ago.

“Even then, he continued to contribute his time and resources to the development of Grenada and his local New York community,” said the Grenada Prime Minister in a statement. “Without a doubt, he served this country with distinction and poise, defying political boundaries, space and time. His outstanding service to Grenada and the global community has solidified his legacy, ensuring that he will go down in the annals of history as a distinguished and acclaimed Grenadian and Caribbean national.”

Born in Petite Martinique, Lamuel A. Stanislaus has been the recipient of numerous professional, civic and political awards, both at home and abroad. Those include the Insignia of Commander of the British Empire from her Majesty the Queen of England, (CBE), the Lifetime Achievement Award from the District Attorney of Brooklyn, and in April of this year, the United States Congress commemorated his 95th  birthday, with a proclamation.

In February 2016 at Grenada’s Independence Celebrations, he was deservingly granted the highest honour of Grenada, Knight Commander KCNG.

Sir Stanislaus became known at the UN as a seasoned, substantive and eloquent voice on behalf of his country, and on occasions when he was delegated to speak on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Group of Latin America and the Caribbean countries (GRULAC).

He also served for a year as a Vice-President of the UN General Assembly, during which he was appointed to act for a month in the absence of the President, receiving highest commendation for the conduct of the business of the General Assembly for that month. Another highlight of Dr. Stanislaus’ tenure was the persuasive statement made before the Decolonization Committee which resulted in the invitation to the then Chief Minister of Montserrat to come to the UN to plead his case for additional help for his volcanic ravaged island. His legacy to his country, however, and to eleven other small Commonwealth countries at the United Nations is what is known as the Small States Joint Office at the UN, where the larger Commonwealth States have given well appointed shared offices to smaller Commonwealth States, rent free for the past twenty-five years and counting.

In commenting on the pioneering effort and the persuasive skills of the Ambassador from Grenada, which made the Joint Office possible, The New York Times recently referred to this unique arrangement as “The United States of Tiny.”

Dr. Stanislaus was born in Petite Martinique, Grenada, he was educated at Grenada Boys’ Secondary School  (1933-1938) and immigrated to the United States in 1945 to attend Howard University in Washington. He majored in chemistry and physics as an undergrad and went to Howard Dental School and graduated with a BS (summa cum laude) in 1948, and the Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) in 1953. After graduation, he took a job doing pediatric dentistry in Newark, N.Y., in upstate Wayne County and was engaged in the private practice of Dentistry in New York City for 32 years before going to the UN.

He was one of the architects of the West Indian Labor Day Parade and was good friends with founders Carlos Lezama and Rufus Gorin and with many of the city’s politicians at that time, including late Rep. Shirley Chisholm and, Congressman Charles Rangel, late former Manhattan Borough President Percy Sutton and late former Gov. Mario Cuomo.

Sir Stanislaus is survived by five children – Lamuel, Galen, Karen, Eugene and John and seven grandchildren.