Sandra Mason facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Her Excellency The Most Honourable
Dame Sandra Mason
FB GCMG DA SC
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Mason in 2019
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| 1st President of Barbados | |
| Assumed office 30 November 2021 |
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| Prime Minister | Mia Mottley |
| Preceded by | Office established Elizabeth II (as Queen of Barbados) Herself (as Governor-General of Barbados) |
| 8th Governor-General of Barbados | |
| In office 8 January 2018 – 30 November 2021 |
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| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Freundel Stuart Mia Mottley |
| Preceded by | Philip Greaves (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Herself (as President of Barbados) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Sandra Prunella Mason
17 January 1949 Saint Philip, Colony of Barbados |
| Political party | Independent |
| Education | University of the West Indies, Cave Hill (LLB) Hugh Wooding Law School (LEC) |
| Occupation |
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Dame Sandra Prunella Mason (born on January 17, 1949) is a Barbadian politician, lawyer, and diplomat. She made history by becoming the first president of Barbados in 2021. Before this, she served as the eighth and last governor-general of Barbados from 2018 to 2021. She was the second woman to hold that important role.
On October 20, 2021, the Parliament of Barbados chose Dame Sandra Mason to be the country's first president. She officially took office on November 30, 2021. This was a big moment for Barbados, as it stopped being a constitutional monarchy (where the Queen of England was head of state) and became a republic.
Dame Sandra Mason is a skilled attorney-at-law (lawyer). She has worked 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 has held many important positions, including being the first magistrate (a type of judge) to become an ambassador for Barbados. She was also the first woman to serve on Barbados's highest court, the Supreme Court.
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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 secondary school. In 1968, she started teaching at Princess Margaret Secondary School. The next year, she worked at Barclays Bank as a clerk.
Later, she studied at the University of the West Indies at Cave Hill, where she earned a degree in law. She was one of the first students to graduate from the law faculty there in 1973. In 1975, she got her Legal Education Certificate from Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad and Tobago. This made her the first woman lawyer from Barbados to graduate from that school. She was officially allowed to practice law on November 10, 1975, becoming the first woman member of the Barbados Bar Association.
Early Career and Legal Work
After finishing her studies, Dame Sandra Mason worked in Trust Administration for Barclays Bank from 1975 to 1977. 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.
From 1991 to 1992, she was a chair of a special group called the CARICOM commission. This group looked at how countries in the Caribbean could work together better. In 1992, she left the family court to become an ambassador to Venezuela. She was the first woman magistrate 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 Mason became the Chief Magistrate for Barbados. In 1997, she was appointed the Registrar of the Supreme Court. In 2005, she was given the special title of Queen's Counsel. In 2008, she became an Appeals Judge, which made her the first woman to serve on the Barbados Court of Appeals. In 2012, she even served as acting Governor-General of Barbados for three days. The next year, she was the first Barbadian to join the Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal (CSAT). This group helps solve disagreements between countries in the Commonwealth of Nations.
Governor-General of Barbados
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In 2017, Dame Sandra Mason was chosen to be the eighth Governor-General of Barbados. She started this role on January 8, 2018. As Governor-General, she represented Queen Elizabeth II, who was the head of state for Barbados at the time.
In 2020, Dame Sandra Mason announced a big change for Barbados. In a speech, she said that Barbados would become a republic. This meant that Barbados would no longer have the Queen as its head of state. Instead, it would have its own president. It was expected that Dame Sandra Mason would be chosen as the first president.
President of Barbados
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On October 12, 2021, both the Prime Minister, Mia Mottley, and the Opposition Leader, Joseph Atherley, suggested Dame Sandra Mason to be the first President of Barbados. On October 20, she was elected by both parts of Parliament without anyone voting against her. However, the people of Barbados did not vote directly for her.
Dame Sandra Mason officially became president on November 30, 2021. This date was special because it was the 55th anniversary of Barbados's independence. As president, her role is mostly ceremonial, meaning she performs important duties but the Prime Minister leads the government. She made her first official visit to Kenya in June 2022. As president, she also represented Barbados at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 and at the coronation of King Charles III 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
