Sandra Mason facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Her Excellency The Most Honourable
Dame Sandra Mason
FB GCMG DA SC
|
|
|---|---|
Mason in 2019
|
|
| 1st President of Barbados | |
| Assumed office 30 November 2021 |
|
| Prime Minister | Mia Mottley |
| Preceded by | Office established Elizabeth II (as Queen) Herself (as Governor-General) |
| 8th Governor-General of Barbados | |
| In office 8 January 2018 – 30 November 2021 |
|
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Freundel Stuart Mia Mottley |
| Preceded by | Philip Greaves (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished (Herself as President) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Sandra Prunella Mason
17 January 1949 Saint Philip, Colony of Barbados |
| Political party | Independent |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | University of the West Indies, Cave Hill (LLB) Hugh Wooding Law School (LEC) |
| Occupation |
|
Dame Sandra Prunella Mason (born on January 17, 1949) is a Barbadian leader, lawyer, and diplomat. She is currently the first president of Barbados, a role she has held since 2021.
Before becoming president, she was the eighth and last governor-general of Barbados from 2018 to 2021. She was the second woman to hold this important position. On October 20, 2021, the Parliament of Barbados chose Dame Sandra to be the country's first president. She officially took office on November 30, 2021. This was a big day for Barbados, as it stopped being a constitutional monarchy and became a republic.
Dame Sandra Mason was a practicing attorney-at-law (a type of lawyer). She served as a High Court judge in Saint Lucia and a Court of Appeal judge in Barbados. She was also the first woman allowed to practice law in Barbados. She helped lead a group called CARICOM that looked at how countries in the Caribbean could work together better. She was the first judge from Barbados to become an ambassador and the first woman to serve on the country's Supreme Court. She was also the first person from Barbados to join an international court that helps solve problems between Commonwealth countries.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Sandra Prunella Mason was born on January 17, 1949, in Saint Philip, Barbados. She went to St. Catherine's Primary School and then to Queen's College for high school.
After finishing school, she taught at Princess Margaret Secondary School in 1968. The next year, she worked as a clerk at Barclays Bank. Dame Sandra then went to the University of the West Indies at Cave Hill, where she studied law and earned her degree in 1973. She was one of the first students to graduate from the law program there.
In 1975, she received a special certificate from Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad and Tobago. This made her the first woman lawyer from Barbados to graduate from that school. On November 10, 1975, she was officially allowed to practice law, becoming the first woman member of the Barbados Bar Association.
Early Career and Legal Work
From 1975 to 1977, Dame Sandra worked in Trust Administration for Barclay's Bank, moving between different jobs within the company.
In 1978, she became a Magistrate for the Juvenile and Family Court. At the same time, she taught family law at the University of the West Indies. She stopped teaching in 1983 but continued her work as a magistrate. In 1988, Dame Sandra studied Judicial Administration in London.
From 1991 to 1999, she was part of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. This committee works to protect the rights of children around the world. She was the vice-chair from 1993 to 1995 and the chair from 1997 to 1999.
Between 1991 and 1992, Dame Sandra was a leader and one of two women on a 13-member CARICOM group. This group looked at how countries in the Caribbean could work together more closely. In 1992, she left the family court to become an ambassador to Venezuela. She was the first woman judge from Barbados to serve as an ambassador. From 1993 to 1994, she also served as ambassador to Chile, Colombia, and Brazil.
When she returned to Barbados in 1994, Dame Sandra became the Chief Magistrate. In 1997, she became the Registrar of the Supreme Court.
In 2000, Dame Sandra studied how to solve disagreements without going to court. She then completed a special program in Canada in 2001. She continued to be the Registrar of the Supreme Court until 2005. In 2008, Dame Sandra became an Appeals Judge, which made her the first woman to serve on the Barbados Court of Appeals. For a few days in 2012, she was the acting Governor-General of Barbados. The next year, she was the first Barbadian to join the Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal (CSAT). This group helps solve problems between countries in the Commonwealth of Nations. Because of this important role, a news outlet called her one of the 10 most powerful women in Barbados.
Governor-General of Barbados
.jpg)
In 2017, Dame Sandra Mason was chosen to be the eighth Governor-General of Barbados. She started this role on January 8, 2018. At the same time, she received a special honor called the Dame Grand Cross in the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George.
In 2020, Dame Sandra announced a big change for Barbados. In a speech written by the government, she stated that Barbados would become a republic. This meant that the country would no longer have the British monarch as its head of state. It was expected that she would be chosen as the first president of Barbados. She was then elected by the two parts of parliament and took office on November 30, 2021.
President of Barbados
.jpg)
On October 12, 2021, Dame Sandra Mason was nominated by Prime Minister Mia Mottley and the Opposition Leader to become the first president of Barbados. On October 20, she was elected by both houses of parliament without anyone voting against her.
Dame Sandra took office on November 30, 2021. This date was also the 55th anniversary of Barbados's independence. As president, her role is mostly ceremonial, similar to her previous role as Governor-General. This means she is the head of state and represents Barbados, but the Prime Minister and government make most of the decisions. She made her first official visit to Kenya in June 2022.
As president, Dame Sandra represented Barbados at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022. She also attended the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla in 2023.
Honours
- Chancellor and Principal Dame of St. Andrew Order of Barbados (DA)
- Dame Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (GCMG)
- Dame of Grace of The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John (DStJ)
- Order of Freedom of Barbados (FB)
Personal Life
Dame Sandra Mason keeps her family life private. She has a son named Matthew, who is also a lawyer.
See also
In Spanish: Sandra Mason para niños
