From the BBC:
“Barbados elects first ever
president ahead of becoming republic”
(Dame Sandra Mason, seen here in
London, has been Barbados' governor-general since 2018)
Barbados has elected its first
ever president as it prepares to become a republic, removing Queen Elizabeth as
head of state. Dame Sandra Mason, 72, is set to be sworn in on 30 November,
which will mark the country's 55th anniversary of independence from Britain. The
first woman to serve on the Barbados Court of Appeals, Dame Sandra has been
governor-general since 2018. The government announced the plan to move to a
republic status last year. It said "the time [had] come" for Barbados
to "fully leave our colonial past behind". The change had already
been recommended by a constitutional review in 1998. The historic election came
after a joint session of the House of Assembly and the Senate on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Mia Mottley described the vote as a "seminal moment"
for the nation.
With a population of about
285,000, Barbados is one of the more populous and prosperous Caribbean islands.
Once heavily dependent on sugar exports, its economy has diversified into
tourism and finance.Barbados will not be the first former British colony in the
Caribbean to become a republic. Guyana took that step in 1970, less than four
years after gaining independence from Britain. Trinidad and Tobago followed suit in 1976 and Dominica in 1978. Jamaica
has in the past suggested that it might also consider the change.
^ It’s sad to see a country stop
being a Commonwealth Realm, but hopefully Barbados will be able to be a stable
and prosperous Republic. ^
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