Noah Nickolas Perry (born August 1, 1950) is an American politician and diplomat who has served as the

United States ambassador to Jamaica This is a list of United States ambassadors to Jamaica. The U.S. Embassy is located in Jamaica's capital, Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, and was established there on August 16, 1962. Ambassadors Notes See also *Jamaica – United States relatio ...

since 2022. He served as a member of the New York State Assembly for the 58th district from 1993 to 2022. His former district included the neighborhood of

East Flatbush East Flatbush is a residential neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. East Flatbush is bounded by Crown Heights and Empire Boulevard to the north; Brownsville and East 98th Street to the east; Flatlands, Canarsie and the ...

, as well as portions of

Canarsie Canarsie ( ) is a mostly residential neighborhood in the southeastern portion of Brooklyn, New York City. Canarsie is bordered on the east by Fresh Creek Basin and East 108th Street; on the north by Linden Boulevard; on the west by Ralph Aven ...

and Brownsville, among other neighborhoods located in the borough of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

Early life and education

Born and raised in

Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica Saint Andrew is a Parishes of Jamaica, parish, situated in the Ordinal directions, southeast of Jamaica in the county of Surrey, Jamaica, Surrey. It lies north, west and east of Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, and stretches into the Blue Mountain ...

, Noah Nickolas Perry graduated from Kingston College in Kingston, Jamaica. Perry graduated from Brooklyn College with 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 year ...

degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

. He later returned to Brooklyn College to study for an

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

in public policy and administration.

Career

He worked at the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union before immigrating to the United States in 1971. The following year he volunteered for the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

, from which he was honorably discharged at the rank of Specialist Five in 1978 after having served as an active-duty serviceman for two years and inactive reserve for four years.

Politics

In 1983, Perry was appointed as a member of Brooklyn Community Board 17. He later served as chairman of that board and the following year he ran as a candidate for District Leader in the 42nd Assembly District. He would later serve as a member of the Executive Board of the 67th Police Precinct and as a director of Flatbush East Community Development Corporation. In 1992, following the 1990 Census, a new assembly district was added in Brooklyn, located in

. Perry won new 58th district seat in the November 1992 election. Since 2001, Perry has been the vice-chair of the Assembly Majority Conference and majority whip. He also serves on the New York State Assembly Committees on Ways & Means, Rules, Codes, Labor, Transportation and Banks. In 2006, Perry declared his candidacy for

New York's 11th congressional district New York's 11th congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in New York City. The 11th district includes all of Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn, including the neighborhoods of B ...

, which was being vacated by retiring Congressman

Major Owens Major Robert Odell Owens (June 28, 1936 – October 21, 2013) was an American politician and librarian who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 2007, representing the New York's 11th and then 12th Congressional distri ...

. In May 2006, he withdrew from the congressional race and endorsed eventual leader

Yvette Clarke Yvette Diane Clarke (born November 21, 1964) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for New York's 9th congressional district since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, she first entered Congress in 2007, representing ...

. Perry ran uncontested in his 2008, 2010 and 2012 general elections for State Assembly.

Biden administration

In November 2021, Perry was nominated to serve as

. Hearings on his nomination were held before the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee on February 8, 2022. On March 8, 2022, the committee favorably reported Perry's nomination to the Senate floor. Perry was confirmed by the entire Senate on March 10, 2022, via

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...

. On May 13, 2022, he presented his credentials to

Governor-General of Jamaica The governor-general of Jamaica is the viceregal representative of the Jamaican monarch, King Charles III, in Jamaica. The monarch, on the advice of the prime minister, appoints a governor-general as his or her representative in Jamaica. Bo ...

Sir Patrick Allen Sir Patrick Linton Allen (born 7 February 1951) is a Jamaican statesman and former Seventh-day Adventist pastor, who has served as the 6th and current governor-general of Jamaica since 26 February 2009. The fourth of five children in a fami ...

Personal life

He and his wife Joyce reside in the

neighborhood of Brooklyn. Perry's granddaughter is

Justine Skye Justine Indira Skyers (born August 24, 1995), known professionally as Justine Skye, is an American singer. Skye, whose initial fame was from Tumblr, found a career in the music industry and signed with Atlantic Records at the age of 19. Early l ...

, a

Roc Nation Roc Nation is an entertainment agency founded by Jay-Z in 2008. The company is headquartered in Manhattan and has additional offices in Los Angeles and London. Roc Nation comprises a comprehensive talent agency, sports agency, record label, mana ...

recording artist.

References

External links

Yassky Strategy
Criticism of David Yassky by his former primary opponent.

* ttp://www.kingscourier.net/site/news.cfm?newsid=17509547&BRD=2384&PAG=461&dept_id=560113&rfi=6 Councilman Wants to Fine ‘Dollar Van’ Riders* {{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, N. Nick 1950 births Living people 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American diplomats 21st-century American politicians African-American diplomats Ambassadors of the United States to Jamaica American politicians of Jamaican descent Brooklyn College alumni Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly United States Army reservists United States Army soldiers