Ambassador John M. Silk, a seasoned statesman with more than four decades of public service, is the Permanent Representative of the Republic of the Marshall Islands to the United Nations. Prior to his appointment in 2024, he served as Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of the President and held multiple ministerial portfolios over the years, including Minister of Natural Resources and Commerce, Minister of Resources and Development, and several terms as Minister of Foreign Affairs under successive administrations. A long-serving Senator from 2000 to 2024, Ambassador Silk has played a central role in shaping national policy on development, trade, and foreign affairs. He holds a degree from Regis University and is a member of the Marshall Islands Bar Association and Law Society.
Reflecting his country’s commitment to ocean governance, Ambassador Silk stated, “I am pleased to present credentials as the Marshall Islands’ first-ever Permanent Representative to the International Seabed Authority. As a nation with our own vast marine resources, the Marshall Islands affirms multilateral cooperation on the sustainable use of the high seas and its seabed resources, and we congratulate the Seabed Authority on 30th years of oceans governance.”
Welcoming Ambassador Silk, Secretary-General Carvalho expressed her delight at the appointment of the first-ever Permanent Representative of the Republic of the Marshall Islands to the ISA. She thanked Ambassador Silk for his Government’s support and reaffirmed that the ISA operates under a rules-based framework. “ISA is here to support the delivery of the Mining Code in the interest of all humankind,” she emphasized.