BRIDGETOWN, November 29 (Prensa Latina) Barbados President Sandra Prunella Mason announced the 35 figures from the nation who will be honored for outstanding service on the occasion of the 56th anniversary of national independence today.
In contemplating contribution to the country, the Caribbean, the Caribbean diaspora, or humanity in general, the President will award the Medal of Freedom to Ian St. Clair Carrington, director of the Economic Recovery and Transformation Program.
He will also congratulate Elton Deighton Mottley on his service as a cultural scholar and his important contribution to the advancement of the cultural arts and the advancement of national identity.
Also listed is Ralph Samuel Decoursey Williams for his involvement as an entrepreneur and pioneer of green economic development in Barbados.
Other included figures receive the Order of the Republic, Gold Award of Merit, Gold or Silver Trident of Excellence, Service Star, Service Medal, and Valor.
From 1966 to 2021, November 30 was known as Barbados’ Independence Day, but it became a republic on a similar date last year.
He then made history by erasing the remnants of the colonial past and installing one of his wives, Sandra Mason, as head of state in the place of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.
Barbados became the fourth of London’s former Caribbean possessions to depose the British monarch. It was preceded by Guyana (1970), Trinidad and Tobago (1976) and Dominica (1978).
The celebration, ceremonial parade and other political-cultural activities will return with their usual pomp and pomp this Wednesday after the pause caused by Covid-19, according to government sources.
mem/znc