Hans Helmut Hertell (born 1950/1951,

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...

) is a former United States

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

to the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

. Nominated by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

in the summer of 2001, Hertell was sworn in as

on November 8, 2001, and began his duties in the Dominican Republic on November 29, 2001. When he finished his tour on May 1, 2007, Ambassador Hertell was the second longest serving

U.S. Ambassador Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the President of the United States, president to serve as the country's diplomat, diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as Ambassador-at-large, ...

in the world.

Early years

Hertell was a co-founder of Goldman, Antonetti, Ferraiuoli, Axtmayer and Hertell, now the third largest full service law firm in Puerto Rico. From 1992-96, Hertell was managing director for the Caribbean and Latin America affairs at ''Black, Kelly, Scruggs & Healey'', a government and public affairs company based in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

In 1989, he served as a member of the Commission to Review U.S. Magistrates for Reappointment of the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. Between 1982-84, he served as political and legal advisor to the

Governor of Puerto Rico The governor of Puerto Rico ( es, gobernador de Puerto Rico) is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and commander-in-chief of the Puerto Rico National Guard. The governor has a duty ...

, as well as to the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

, the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Treasury of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Ambassador

Hertell was sworn in as the United States Ambassador to the Dominican Republic on November 8, 2001. At the time the Dominican Republic was the fourth largest trading partner of the United States in the Western Hemisphere after Canada, Brazil and Mexico and the largest economy in Central America and the Caribbean. In April 2007, Hertell officially left his post as ambassador. He was replaced by

Chargé d'affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...

Roland W. Bullen, who served as the interim head of the embassy until mid-November 2007. On November 15, 2007, P. Robert Fannin was sworn in as the new ambassador.

Post-Ambassador years

Hertell remains active in fundraising for the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

. He holds a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and a

juris doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. He is also involved with the operations and investments of the

Barrick Gold Barrick Gold Corporation is a mining company that produces gold and copper with 16 operating sites in 13 countries. It is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It has mining operations in Argentina, Canada, Chile, Côte d'Ivoire, Democrati ...

Corporation in the Dominican Republic. He has been the Chairman of the Board at U.S. Precious Metals, Inc since January 9, 2015. He has been a Director of U.S. Precious Metals, Inc since May 31, 2013 and Colt Resources Inc. since April 14, 2015. He also serves as a Director of InterEnergy Holdings. In 2009, Hertell lobbied with Dominican authorities for the required permissions and licenses. He joined with

Steve Swindal Stephen Whitfield Swindal is an American businessman. He is the chairman of Port Tampa Bay. Swindal was a general partner of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball from 1998 through 2007, and in 2005 had been chosen as George Steinbrenne ...

to open a baseball academy in Boca Chica in 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hertell, Hans 1950s births Ambassadors of the United States to the Dominican Republic Fordham University alumni Puerto Rican people of German descent 21st-century Puerto Rican politicians 21st-century Puerto Rican lawyers Puerto Rican businesspeople People from San Juan, Puerto Rico Living people Date of birth missing (living people) Republican Party (Puerto Rico) politicians University of Puerto Rico alumni