Barbados gets a makeover, parts ways with its colonial past

Words Sarah Adama

Barbados wants to become a republic. First on the agenda, the head of State. The country has elected its first-ever President on Thursday, 55 years after gaining independence from Britain. This is the first major step as the former British Colony moves to chisel out the remnants of its colonial past. Dame Sandra Mason, a 72-year-old judge and former ambassador, was elected by the parliament on Wednesday.

The election was confirmed during a joint session of the Caribbean nation’s House of Assembly and Senate, with Dame Mason winning two-thirds of vote. Prime Minister Mia Mottley called the election a “seminal moment” in Barbados’ history. She added, “we have just elected from among us a woman who is uniquely and passionately Barbadian, does not pretend to be anything else [and] reflects the values of who we are.” Dame Mason has served as a teacher, magistrate, ambassador to Venezuela, Chile, Columbia, and Brazil then became the first female Court of Appeal judge of the Supreme Court of Barbados. As described in

The Island country with a population of just less than 300,000, had still maintained ties with the British monarch even since gaining Independence. It is the latest in the stream of Caribbean countries cutting those ties – Guyana did so in 1970, followed by Trinidad and Tobago in 1976 and Dominica in 1978. The Queen Is still head of state in many other former British colonies, including Jamaica, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.

Dame Mason will be sworn in on November 30, the day Barbados gained Independence.