First female Secretary General of Caricom elected

Dr Carla Barnett was elected as the eighth Caricom Secretary General – and the first woman in this position – on Tuesday.

This was done virtually during a Heads of Government Special Session of all Caricom members. This was announced in a release.

The decision was unanimous. Barnett is a national of Belize, the first woman and the first Belizean to be elected for the post. She replaces Ambassador Irwin LaRocque who is completing his second term. She will assume office on 15 August. LaRocque has been secretary general since 2011.

Barnett was a former deputy Secretary General of Caricom. Barnett was the vice president of the Belize Senate and has served in various ministerial capacities in her country’s government. She also served as Financial Secretary of Belize and Deputy Governor of the Belize Central Bank, as well as vice-president of operations of the Caribbean Development Bank.

Barnett attained her Ph.D. in Social Sciences from the University of the West Indies, (UWI) Mona Campus in Jamaica. She also holds a Master of Science degree in Economics from the University of Western Ontario in Canada, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the UWI.

A press release on Monday said Prime Minister and Caricom chairman Dr Rowley was the head of this meeting.