Kerrie Symmonds (born 1 June 1966 in Saint James,

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

) is a Barbadian lawyer, politician and the cabinet minister in the government of

Mia Mottley Mia Amor Mottley, (born 1 October 1965) is a Barbadian politician and attorney who has served as the eighth prime minister of Barbados since 2018 and as Leader of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) since 2008. Mottley is the first woman to hold ...

. He has served as the minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade since 2022, and was previously minister of energy and business development.

Early life and education

Kerrie Drurard Symmonds was born on June 1, 1966. He attended Harrison College and Barbados Community College. He enrolled into the

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...

where he studied Law and Arts. He obtained a BSc in Law and Arts.

Career

Symmonds was elected the first MP of St. James Central, Barbados. Between 2003 and 2008 he served as the Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of

. He was the youngest to chair the COTED (Council for Trade and Economic Development) group of CARICOM Ministers. He subsequently served as the Deputy Chairman of Barbados' Joint Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Trade and Deputy Chairman of the

Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation The Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) is a public radio and television broadcaster, located in The Pine, St. Michael in Barbados. It was founded in 1963 as Radio Barbados. The CBC falls under the ministry and jurisdiction of the Prim ...

. After an unsuccessful run at the 2008 general elections, he was elected into the

Barbados House of Assembly The House of Assembly of Barbados is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Barbados. It has 30 Members of Parliament (MPs), who are directly elected in single member Constituency, constituencies using the simple-majority (or first-past- ...

on February 21, 2013. In the 2018 general elections, he was re-elected member of the Barbados House of Assembly and was appointed Minister of Tourism and International Transport in the Mia Mottley Administration. In January 2022, he was reassigned another ministerial portfolio as Minister of Energy and Business Development, Senior Minister coordinating the Productive Sectors by

. He is a member of the

Barbados Labour Party The Barbados Labour Party (BLP), colloquially known as the "Bees", is a social democratic political party in Barbados established in 1938. Led by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, it is the governing party of Barbados and the sole ruling party i ...

Controversy

On February 2, 2018, Symmonds made a statement calling 3 female members of the Barbados Labour Party "1,000 pounds of blubber". This caused an outrage which called for his resignation with other MPs criticizing the statement he made.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Symmonds, Kerrie Barbadian politicians People from Saint James, Barbados Energy ministers University of the West Indies alumni Barbados Labour Party politicians Members of the House of Assembly of Barbados 1966 births Living people Foreign Ministers of Barbados