Caribbean nation elect’s governor general to new role prior to former British colony becoming a republic.
On Wednesday, Barbados has elected its first president with just weeks to go until the Caribbean Island becomes a republic and ceases to recognise Queen Elizabeth as its head of state. The island’s governor general, Dame Sandra Mason, was elected unanimously by the former British colony’s parliament with only one-member declining vote.
Mason, a 72-year-old judge and former ambassador, will be sworn in on 30 November, the 55th anniversary of her country’s independence from Britain in 1966. The prime minister, Mia Mottley, hailed what she called a historic landmark for the island of about 290,000 inhabitants. She stated, “How can anyone deny the rightness of the moment? Dame Sandra has been and continues to be an exemplary daughter of the soil.”
Dame Sandra Mason, 72, was elected when she won a two-thirds vote during a joint session of the Caribbean nation’s House of Assembly and Senate on Wednesday.
Mason, who is the current governor-general of Barbados, will be sworn in Nov. 30 on the 55th anniversary of Barbados’ independence from Britain. At that time, Mason will replace Queen Elizabeth II as the head of state in the nation’s process of becoming a Republic.
