Kerryann Ifill | |
---|---|
President of the Senate of Barbados | |
In office March 2012 –May 2018 | |
Prime Minister | Freundel Stuart |
Preceded by | Branford Taitt |
Succeeded by | Richard Cheltenham |
Personal details | |
Born | 1973 |
Kerryann F. Ifill (born 20 December 1973) [1] is a Barbadian politician. She served as President of the Senate of Barbados from 2012 to 2018. [2]
She lost her sight due to cataracts at the age of four. She initially had to leave school,before attending a school for the blind from the age of six. [3]
In 1999 Ifill became the first blind person to graduate from the University of the West Indies,gaining a degree in Sociology and Psychology from Cave Hill Campus in her native Barbados. She went on to obtain an MBA at Durham Business School,in England. [1] She had initially considered studying law,with an aim to become a lawyer,but believed she would be unable to achieve that as a blind person,a belief she subsequently regretted. [3]
In 2008 Barbadian Prime Minister David Thompson appointed her to the Senate,and subsequently to the position of deputy President of the Senate. [3]
On 14 March 2012,Prime Minister Freundel Stuart announced that,the following week,he would appoint Ifill President of the Senate. She became the first woman to hold that position,and the first person with a disability,as well as the youngest ever holder of the position,at the age of 38. She succeeded Branford Taitt [4] [5] [6] (in office 2008 to 2012).
Ifill also serves as President of the Barbados Council for the Disabled. [7]
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Barbados is an island country in the southeastern Caribbean Sea, situated about 100 miles (160 km) east of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Roughly triangular in shape, the island measures some 21 miles (34 km) from northwest to southeast and about 14 miles (23 km) from east to west at its widest point. The capital and largest town is Bridgetown, which is also the main seaport.
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Ifill is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
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Freundel Jerome Stuart, OR, PC, SC is a Barbadian politician who served as seventh Prime Minister of Barbados and the leader of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) from 23 October 2010 to 21 February 2013; and from 21 February 2013 to 25 May 2018. He succeeded David Thompson, who had died in office on 23 October 2010 from pancreatic cancer.
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