President Hipolito Mejia decorated out-going US Ambassador Charles Manatt with the Order of Merit Duarte, Sanchez and Mella, Silver Cross. The ambassador, a political appointee of the Clinton administration, served a 15-month term, from 17 December 1999. In his short term in the DR, he traveled all throughout the nation, meeting with thousands of persons and finding ways to convert his connections in the US into concrete projects in the areas of education, public health, agriculture, environment and others. He is also recognized for his support to the country’s efforts to secure textile parity from the US.
