Barbados has become the World’s newest republic, around 400 years after it became a British colony.

Highlights

• Barbados, the Caribbean Island nation, removed Queen Elizabeth II as the head of the state.
• Dame Sandra Prunella Mason, took over as the President of Barbados.
• Mason was selected to become the first president of Barbados in October 2021.
• Mason was selected as President of Barbados, at a joint meeting of both the Houses of Parliament of Barbados.
• His name was announced by Speaker of the House of Assembly, Arthur Holder.

Who is Mason?

Since 2018, Mason has been the governor-general of the Barbados. Mason completed her judicial education in London, after studying at Queen’s College. She also completed a judicial fellowship in Canada. She started her career as a teacher and worked in banking sector until 1978. She then started working as Magistrate of the Juvenile and Family Court in Barbados. In between 1991 to 1991, she served as Chair & Vice-Chair at UN Committee on Rights of Child. She became the first female who sworn in as Court of Appeal Judge of the Barbados Supreme Court in 2018. In 2014, she became the first Barbadian to be a member of Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal (CSAT). She also became the first female president of the SCAT in 2017.