Above: Martin Franklin with Antiguan officials

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Antigua and Barbuda has named financier Martin Franklin the country’s newest Special Economic Envoy.

The role is the same given earlier this month to Hollywood star Robert De Niro.

Franklin is the founder and executive chairman of Jarden Corporation, among other roles.

“My government feels that Mr. Franklin is strategically placed to attract a wide range of investments to Antigua and Barbuda,” Browne said. “His management and representation of dozens of consumer product companies in North America we believe can be beneficial to my government achieving our vision of making Antigua and Barbuda and economic powerhouse within the region.”

Franklin is among the world’s richest men, according to Forbes, and is the son of a Sir Roland Franklin, who lives on Jumby Bay.

The relationship was formalized by Antigua and Barbuda’s Consul General in Miami, Gilbert Boustany, who said Franklin would also provide assistance in other areas of the government’s debt restructuring and in attracting investors to Antigua’s financial services market.