Assad Shoman studied law in England and was admitted to the Bar of Belize, practised for a short time and was Attorney General. He has a Master’s Degree in International Relations from the University of Sussex, England, and a Ph.D. in History at the University of London. He has researched and written extensively on Belizean society and history generally and particularly on the Guatemalan claim to Belize.
He formed and headed the Belize Independence Secretariat, led the international mission at the United Nations from 1975 and represented Belize at international forums until Belize’s independence in 1981. Since independence he has followed and commented on the ongoing negotiations to resolve the dispute, occasionally serving on Advisory Councils relating thereto.
From 2000 until 2008, as Minister of Foreign Affairs and as Ambassador with ministerial rank, he conducted the proceedings relating to the Facilitation Process and its aftermath, including the Agreements and Confidence Building Measures of 2000, 2003 and 2005 and the establishment of the OAS Office near the border with Guatemala.
Since 2008 he has made himself available as an advisor to the government of Belize in its efforts to bring an end to the Guatemalan claim. He has spoken widely on the issue and written several articles and books on the subject, including Land in Belize 1765-1871, with Nigel Bolland (1977), Historia de Belice, El surgimiento de una nación centroamericana, (UNAM, 2009), Belize’s Independence and Decolonisation in Latin America (2010), A History of Belize in 13 Chapters (2nd ed. 2011), and How you can end the Guatemalan claim (2013).
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