Jamaican ambassador to the U.S., Audrey Marks announced this week that she would step down from office, effective March, 2012.

Marks, who is Jamaica's first female ambassador to U.S., gave no further explanation for her decision to leave office.

"I have offered my resignation as is the normal protocol in these circumstances," Marks told the Jamaica Observer from her post in Washington.

The vacuum left from Marks' departure will provide an opportunity for the newly elected Prime Minister, Portia Simpson Miller, to select her choice for the crucial, high profile position. Marks was appointed to the position by the Jamaica Labor Party-led government in 2010, replacing former JLP Member of Parliament and current Jamaica's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Anthony Johnson. Officials from the current People's National Party (PNP) administration have also released no comments on Marks' resignation.

A graduate from the University of the West Indies and Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida, Marks also founded the bill payment agency, Paymaster.