The island of Barbados elects its first president

Barbados’ first president has been elected, deposing Queen Elizabeth as the country’s chief of state. On November 30, Dame Sandra Mason will be sworn in. The country, where British colonists victimized thousands for the sake of the sugar industry, proclaims its desire to be free of its colonial past.

Barbados is by far the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands, located in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Americas’ Caribbean region. It has a total area of 432 km2, a length of 34 km (21 miles), and a width of up to 23 km (14 miles) (167 sq mi). It’s located in the western North Atlantic. Barbados became an independent state and Commonwealth realm on November 30, 1966, with Elizabeth II as monarch. The island’s population is just under 300,000 people. Because it adhered to British customs, it has been dubbed “Little England.”

 Sandra Mason was elected Barbados’ first president in October 2021.

As of 2018, Dame Sandra Prunella Mason (born 17 January 1949) served as Barbados’ eighth and final Governor-General. She was a practicing lawyer who served on the Barbados Court of Appeal and the Saint Lucia High Court. She is Barbados’ first female barrister.

When queried about the plans last year, a spokesman for Buckingham Palace said the decision would be made by the Barbados government and people.

The Caribbean’s easternmost island is best known as the birthplace of superstar singer Rihanna, who serves as a Barbadian ambassador for education, tourism, and investment.