Nita Barrow

Her Excellency
Dame Nita Barrow
GCMG FRCN
5th Governor-General of Barbados
In office
6 June 1990  19 December 1995
Monarch Elizabeth II
Prime Minister Lloyd Erskine Sandiford
Owen Arthur
Preceded by Hugh Springer
Succeeded by

Denys Williams (A.g) 1995–96

Clifford Husbands 1996–2011
Personal details
Born (1916-11-15)15 November 1916
Died 19 December 1995(1995-12-19) (aged 79)
Alma mater University of Toronto

Dame Ruth Nita Barrow GCMG FRCN (15 November 1916 – 19 December 1995) was the first and only female Governor-General of Barbados.[1] She was a nurse and humanitarian activist from Barbados. She served as Governor-General of Barbados from 6 June 1990 until her death on 19 December 1995.[2] She was also the sister of Errol Barrow, first Prime Minister of Barbados.

Life and career

Ruth Nita Barrow was born in Barbados, the second of her parents' five children.[3] She trained as a nurse, midwife and health care administrator, holding a variety of nursing, public health and public administration jobs in Barbados and Jamaica in the 1940s/1950s.[3][4]

In 1985, at the Nairobi World Conference on Women, Barrow served as the chair of the NGO Forum.[5] She was a member of the Commonwealth Group of Eminent Persons that visited South Africa in 1986. During that mission she successfully thwarted South Africa's military restrictions, through entering the restricted area of Alexandra township disguised in African garb and head-dress.[6]

In 1980 Barrow was conferred the highest honour in Barbados; she was made a Dame of St. Andrew (DA) of the Order of Barbados. She was also awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Nursing.

Legacy

The Errol & Nita Barrow Educational Trust raises funds and make financial awards to enable Bajans and Commonwealth Caribbean citizens to pursue a course of study that will further the development of Barbados and the Caribbean.[7]

Positions

Honors and awards


Sources

  1. Blackman, Francis Woodie. Dame Nita: Caribbean Woman, World Citizen. Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle Publishers, 1985.
  1. COLLECTIONS & LIBRARIES: Their Excellencies, Cave Hill Campus Library, University of the West Indies.
  2. Carrington, Sean (2007). A~Z of Barbados Heritage. Macmillan Caribbean Publishers Limited. pp. 20–21. ISBN 0-333-92068-6.
  3. 1 2 Woodie Blackman, "Obituary: Dame Nita Barrow", The Independent, 22 December 1995.
  4. "Dame Nita Barrow", Ciwil.
  5. Fraser, Arvonne S. (2013). "UN Decade for Women: The Power of Words and Organizations". Women and Social Movements, International. Alexandria, Virginia: Alexander Street Press, LLC. Archived from the original on 8 July 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  6. Carrington (2003).
  7. The Errol and Nita Barrow Educational Trust.

See also

Government offices
Preceded by
Hugh Springer
Governor-General of Barbados
1990–1995
Succeeded by
Denys Williams
Acting
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