Geoffrey da Silva
{{Short description|Guyanese politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Geoffrey da Silva
| office = Guyanese Minister of Trade, Tourism and Industry
| termstart = 1999
| termend = 2001
| office2 = Guyanese Ambassador to Venezuela
| termstart2 = 2011
| termend2 = 2015
| nationality = {{flagicon|Guyana}} Guyanese
}}
Geoffrey da Silva is a politician and administrator in Guyana. He was the Guyanese Minister of Trade, Tourism and Industry from 1999 to 2001 and later served as head of Guyana Investment (Go-Invest).
Activities in Canada
Da Silva has a degree from York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada."Metro area voters to decide 33 ridings", Toronto Star, 18 November 1988, A9. He was an employee of the Communist Party of Canada in the 1980s and ran as a Communist candidate at the federal and provincial levels. He also sought election for municipal office in Toronto."The choices in Metro", Toronto Star, 7 September 1987, A8. Da Silva was thirty-four years old in 1987. The Communist Party was not a strong political force in Canada during this period, and da Silva never came close to winning election.
Da Silva was involved in the Guyanese liberation movement during his time in Canada, seeking the return of democracy in that country.[http://www.kaieteurnewsgy.com/Archive/april%2006/26/index.htm "Thousands give murdered Minister and siblings a mournful ‘send-off'"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060904180712/http://www.kaieteurnewsgy.com/Archive/april%2006/26/index.htm |date=4 September 2006 }}, Kaieteur News, 25 April 2006. He was Guyana's Consul General to Toronto in the 1990s, and was interviewed by the Toronto Star newspaper following the death of Guyanese president Cheddi Jagan in 1997.Philip Mascoll, "Thousands of Guyanese mourn chief", Toronto Star, 8 March 1997, A17.
Cabinet Minister
Da Silva was appointed to the cabinet of President Bharrat Jagdeo on 19 November 1999, replacing the ailing Michael Shree Chan as minister of trade, tourism and industry."President appoints new finance, trade ministers", BBC Monitoring Americas, 19 November 1999; "Guyana's president names new finance, trade ministers", Associated Press Newswires, 19 November 1999, 17:00 report. As a participant in the Fourth Annual Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development in 2000, he argued that Caribbean tourism would need to reflect a growing interest in ecotourism.Jeffrey Laign, "Natural bounty", 21 August 2000, p. 13. He also promoted sustainable tourism in the ecologically fragile area of Kaieteur and took part in negotiations toward completing a roadway with Brazil.Robert Elliott, "Guyana's Kaieteur Falls a secret ... for now", Reuters News, 4 September 2000, 21:02 report; "Guyana and Brazil to hold talks on rainforest highway", EFE News Service, 11 December 2000. In February 2000, he led an official delegation that met with Prince Charles of the United Kingdom in his official visit to Guyana."Prince Charles visits poor areas in Guyana", Agence France-Presse, 25 February 2000.
After 2001
Da Silva left cabinet following the 2001 elections and was appointed as head of Guyana Investment."Guyana's President Jagdeo unveils new cabinet", EFE News Service, 10 April 2001. The following year, the Guyana and Caribbean Political and Cultural Center for Popular Education released an essay arguing that he had significantly improved the agency's ability to attract investors during his time in office.[http://www.guyanacaribbeanpolitics.com/guyanafeatures/ppp10_years.html "PPP - Ten years in government"], Guyana and Caribbean Political and Cultural Center for Popular Education, 2002, accessed 18 July 2006.
In 2005, da Silva argued that Guyana was creating jobs by diversifying its economy away from traditional crops such as bauxite and sugar."Guyanese government pledges to create more than 5,000 new jobs", BBC Monitoring Americas, 20 November 2005. He helped to organize the Guyana Trade and Investment Exposition in the same year, seeking increased Canadian investment in Guyana."Guyana to hold trade show in Canada", BBC Monitoring Americas, 17 June 2005. Notwithstanding his leftist political background, da Silva has called for increased private-sector involvement in Guyana's food packaging industry.[http://www.guyanachronicle.com/ARCHIVES/archive%2021-07-05.html Timica Forrester, "CariAir/Roopgroup Packaging Plant fails to meet required standards"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060907152928/http://www.guyanachronicle.com/ARCHIVES/archive%2021-07-05.html |date=7 September 2006 }}, Guyana Chronicle Online, 21 July 2005, accessing 18 July 2006.
In 2011, da Silva was appointed Ambassador to Venezuela{{cite news|url=https://guyanachronicle.com/2011/01/12/geoffrey-dasilva-is-new-ambassador-to-venezuela/|title=Geoffrey DaSilva is new ambassador to Venezuela|website=Guyana Chronicle|access-date=5 September 2020}} He served until 2015.{{cite news|url=https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2015/09/17/border-controversy-venezuela-halts-accreditation-of-new-guyanese-ambassador/|title=Border controversy… Venezuela halts accreditation of new Guyanese ambassador|website=Kaieteur News Online|access-date=5 September 2020}}
Electoral record
{{1988 Canadian federal election/Eglinton—Lawrence}}