Entertainment

Sean Penn named ambassador for Haiti in ceremony

By theGrio

10:35 PM on 01/31/2012

READ MORE: Ambassador, Haiti, Michel Martelly, Sean Penn

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Sean Penn speaks onstage at the Cinema For Peace event benefitting J/P Haitian Relief Organization in Los Angeles held at Montage Hotel on January 14, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images For J/P Haitian Relief Organization and Cinema For Peace)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) -- Actor Sean Penn has been named ambassador at large for Haiti in recognition of his humanitarian work since the 2010 earthquake.

The Hollywood star received the honor from Haitiian President Michel Martelly at a special ceremony Tuesday evening at the National Palace.

Martelly thanked Penn for keeping the spotlight on the Caribbean nation.

The president joked that the "only downside" to Penn's new position is that he can no longer call the actor by his first name. Now Penn will be called "Ambassador."

Penn's J/P Haitian Relief Organization was set up a few months after the Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake to oversee a settlement camp where thousands of people displaced by the disaster lived.