Sandra Marie Granger (née Chan-A-Sue; born 1947) is a retired Guyanese academic and civil servant who was the

First Lady of Guyana First Lady of Guyana is the title held by the wife of the president of Guyana. The current First Lady, first lady of Guyana is Arya Ali, wife of President Irfaan Ali, who has served in the position since August 2020. First ladies and gentlemen of ...

, as the wife of President

David A. Granger David Arthur Granger (born 15 July 1945) is a retired military officer who served as the 9th President of Guyana from May 2015 to August 2020. He served for a time as Commander of the Guyana Defence Force and subsequently as National Security A ...

Early life

Granger was born in the Bourda neighbourhood of Georgetown, British Guiana.First Lady or not, I am always the wife of a soldier –Sandra Granger
''

Kaieteur News ''Kaieteur News'' is a privately owned daily newspaper published in Guyana, South America. ''Kaieteur News'' columnists include Freddie Kissoon, Stella Ramsaroop, Adam Harris C. Adam Harris (born October 14, 1975) is a former Republican memb ...

'', 24 May 2015. Retrieved 22 November 2017. Her father, born in Suriname, was of

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

descent, while her mother was from the North-West District and of

Amerindian The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the A ...

ancestry. She attended Sacred Heart Primary School and St. Joseph High School. She married

in 1970, and they subsequently had two daughters, Han and Afuwa.David Granger promises hope, revival and purposeful leadership
''Kaieteur News'', 10 April 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2017.

Career

Granger left the workforce after the birth of her second child, having worked for periods as a travel agent and later as a scriptwriter and traffic manager for Radio Demerara. Once her children were older, she began studying at the

University of Guyana The University of Guyana, in Georgetown, Guyana, is Guyana's national higher education institution. It was established in April 1963 with the following Mission: "To discover, generate, disseminate, and apply knowledge of the highest standard for ...

. She received two

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degrees, one in English literature and one in Portuguese, and then attended the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

on a Fulbright Scholarship, where she graduated with an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in Brazilian literature and a graduate certificate in Latin American studies. After returning to her homeland, Granger spent several years as a lecturer in the University of Guyana's Department of Modern Languages, and served as assistant

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the Faculty of Arts.Our Patron
The Guyana Foundation. Retrieved 22 November 2017. In 1989 she began working as a

rapporteur A rapporteur is a person who is appointed by an organization to report on the proceedings of its meetings. The term is a French-derived word. For example, Dick Marty was appointed ''rapporteur'' by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Eur ...

for the

Secretariat of the Caribbean Community The Secretariat of the Caribbean Community is the principal administrative organ for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and is headed by the secretary general, who is the chief executive officer of the community. The mission statement of the sec ...

, where one of her first tasks was to report on the public reaction to the Grand Anse Declaration.Sandra Granger: Guyana’s First Lady, integrationist
Caribbean Community, 3 July 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2017. She eventually became executive management officer in the Office of the

Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

, retiring in 2008.

First Lady

Granger's husband, a former chief of the

Guyana Defence Force The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) is the military of Guyana, established in 1965. It has military bases across the nation. The Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Force is always the incumbent President of Guyana. History The GDF was formed on 1 Nov ...

, was sworn in as president in May 2015. As First Lady, her areas of interest have included women's rights, the prevention of sexual violence, and the welfare of children and the elderly. The '' Stabroek News'' has described as her a "modern, activist First Lady with an official office, a public policy agenda that is complementary to the government, regular speaking engagements, and a strong social media presence".First Lady
'' Stabroek News'', 19 August 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Granger, Sandra 1947 births Guyanese people of Chinese descent Guyanese people of Surinamese descent First ladies of Guyana Guyanese people of indigenous peoples descent Academic staff of the University of Guyana University of Guyana alumni University of Pittsburgh alumni Caribbean Community people Living people