U.S. rapper Wyclef Jean, who created a 2004 album in Haitian Creole, has been named a roving ambassador for Haiti.

President Réne Préval has given Jean the new role in an attempt to bring investors and tourists back to a country ravaged by internal violence and civil disturbance.

Wyclef Jean gives a gift to a girl during a Christmas gift distribution to about 600 children sponsored by his foundation, Yele Haiti, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Nov. 29, 2006.
(Ariana Cubillos/Associated Press)

Préval called Jean "our best asset to promote the country's image around the world."

He made the announcement Wednesday as he and Jean made a three-day trip to Jamaica together.

Jean was born in Haiti but moved with his family to Brooklyn, N.Y., when he was nine years old.

He runs a foundation, Yele Haiti, to provide humanitarian aid and assistance in the poorest country in the Americas.

His foundation sponsored a cultural festival in Haiti in December that included a performance by Jean, his first in the country for eight years.

Haiti's government says Jean helped lobby the U.S. Congress for a trade bill expected to help bring textile manufacturing jobs in Haiti.

As roving ambassador, his role will be to boost tourism and promote development in Haiti at international events.

"We wish we could have several Wyclefs because the country could have gained so much," Foreign Affairs Minister Rénald Clérismé told Reuters.

Préval won office last year after many postponed elections following the ousting of former president Jean-Paul Aristide.

UN forces trying to keep peace in the country have been met with violence and protest.

Jean, 34, gained fame as a member of the hip hop trio The Fugees, winning Grammys in 1996 for their album The Score and single Killing Me Softly.

He has been nominated for a best pop collaboration Grammy this year for his performance with Shakira on the hit Hips Don't Lie.

His 2004 album, Sak Pasé Presents: Welcome to Haiti (Creole 101) is entirely in the Haitian dialect.