H.E. Lynn Raymond Young
Ambassador of Belize to the United States of America
Ambassador Young was born in Belize City on April 29th, 1958 to Sir Coleville Young, former Governor General of Belize, and Lady Norma Young nee Trapp. He attended St. John’s Junior College from 1974-1976 and received an Associate’s Degree in physics, chemistry, and math. In 1978, he moved to Trinidad to attend the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago. He received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1981. He played basketball on the college team and was an active participant in the campus music scene, playing piano, bass, drums, and steel pan music during his time in university. He was also a member of a jazz group, for which he played bass. He remains an avid basketball fan though he no longer has the time to play as much as he’d like to.
In 1984 he began working as operations manager at Shell Belize Limited, which was the beginning of a long career in the Belizean energy sector. In 1987, he moved to working for Belize Electricity Limited as a production manager. BEL (as it is known locally) is the primary distributor of electricity in Belize. Later that same year, he married his wife, Margaret Althea Young. From 1989 to 1991, Ambassador lived in Canada while working towards his MBA from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario.
Ambassador Young returned to Belize in 1991 as the General Manager of engineering for BEL, and a 1993 promotion to the position of General Manager of Finance and Administration followed quickly. During that time, Ambassador Young worked tirelessly to expand electrical service to rural Belize, and to strengthen the existing electrical infrastructure, making it more resistant to storms and natural disaster. This was in addition to increasing the reliability of the local electrical supply, even in remote areas, and putting a stop to the days of rolling blackouts. Ambassador Young was appointed President and CEO of BEL in 1999, which is a position he held for 12 years.
In 2011, he moved to being President and CEO of the Belize Electricity Company, a position he held until he was appointed ambassador in 2021. BECOL is Belize's largest electricity generating company, supplying almost 50% of the country's electrical energy from three Hydro Generating Plants in Western Belize on the three major rivers.
Ambassador Young has served several Boards in Belize, Canada, and the Caribbean including Newfoundland Power, Maritime Electric, Cayman Utilities Ltd., Fortis Turks and Caicos, CARILEC (The Association of Caribbean Electric Utilities), the University of Belize, Belize Electricity Ltd., Belize Electric Company Ltd, and the Kolbe Foundation (Corrections Facility Management). He has also served as Honorary Consul of South Korea to Belize, and Honorary Consul of Canada to Belize.
Ambassador Young has 4 children and one granddaughter. In his spare time he enjoys playing music (especially the steel pan), and fishing at his vacation home in beautiful St. George’s Caye.