In news- Barbados has elected its first ever president and replaced the UK Queen as head of the state.
Key updates-
- Dame Sandra Mason, 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.
- 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.
About Barbados:
- Barbados is an eastern Caribbean island and an independent British Commonwealth nation.
- With a population of about 285,000, it is one of the more populous and prosperous Caribbean islands.
- Once heavily dependent on sugar exports, its economy has diversified into tourism and finance.
- The capital and largest town is Bridgetown, which is also the main seaport.
- The island was a British possession without interruption from the 17th century to 1966, when it attained independence.
Source: BBC
