BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) — Prominent jurist Justice Sandra Mason will become Barbados’s eighth governor general when she is sworn into office on January 8 next year.

She replaces Sir Elliot Belgrave, who served as head of State from June 2012 to June 2017.

Prime Minister Freundel Stuart yesterday announced that Madame Justice Sandra Mason will become the second woman to be appointed to the post since the island attained political independence from Britain in 1966.

“The selection of a governor general is never an easy task. The selection process must be guided by a range of factors, among them being personal and professional attributes, record of service, commitment to country, integrity and dignity. There are many Barbadians at home and in the diaspora who could qualify,” Stuart said.

The Appeals Court judge has more than 30 years experience in the legal profession and has served as registrar of the Supreme Court and chief magistrate. She also served as a High Court judge in the sub-regional Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

On assumption of the office of governor general, Justice Mason will, under the Order of the Dame of Saint Andrew, become the chancellor and principal dame of Saint Andrew.