Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis: St Kittian Politician Marcella Liburd has been appointed as the first female Governor General of St Kitts and Nevis on 31st January 2023 at 11:50 pm at Government House, Springfield, Basseterre.
As per the update, newly elected Governor General Marcella Liburd will succeed Samuel Weymouth Tapley Seaton GCMG, CVO, KC, JP, and LL. D, who was the fourth Governor General of St Kitts and Nevis. In addition, the authorities have stated, “This is a historic day for our Federation as she will be the first female Governor General”.
Additionally, Marcella Liburd has served in various roles and capacities for St Kitts and Nevis as a lawyer, teacher, Senator, Deputy Speaker, and Speaker of the National Assembly along with Cabinet Minister of the Federal Government.
Governor General Liburd completed her Bachelor of Laws with honours from the Norman Manley Law School (NMLS) in 1992. She continued her educational journey and earned a Legal Education Certificate from NMLS in 1994.
Furthermore, in 1994, Marcella Liburd was called to the St Kitts and Nevis Bar of the Supreme Court of the Eastern Caribbean region, where she served as the Senator and St Kitts and Nevis National Assembly Deputy Speaker for St Kitts and Nevis Labour Party Administration before being appointed as the Speaker of the National Assembly in 2004 and acted in the capacity till 2008.
Moreover, Governor General Liburd has also served in the capacity of Minister of Health, community services and Development, Social Services, Minister of Culture and Gender Affairs, along with acting as the Prime Minister on occasions.
The reports have also stated that Marcella Liburd and several pieces of legislation over the past years led to the Equal Pay Act In 2011 and the Domestic Violence Act.
Ms Liburd was further nominated among the most prominent women of the Federation for her contributions and roles in gender equality growth and development.
Marcella Liburd was also elected as the first female Chairperson of the St Kitts and Nevis Labour Party in 2013 in the Federation’s 81-year history, after which she became the first female Deputy National Leader of the SKNLP in 2018.
On Thursday, September 2022, Marcella Liburd also worked as the Governor General’s Deputy. She was appointed by the first female Governor General of the St Kitts and Nevis Federation by King Charles III, which is called a historic event for the nation.