Yvonne Walkes
Yvonne Walkes | |
|---|---|
| Occupations | politician and diplomat |
| Known for | senator and High Commissioner |
| Political party | Democratic Labour Party |
Yvonne V. Walkes is a Barbadian politician. She was a senator from 1990 to 1994. In 2015 she was her country's High Commissioner to Canada.
Career
She was a trade unionist in the 1970s and she began lecturing at the Barbados Workers’ Union Labour College in Saint Peter rising to be a Senior Tutor.[1]
Walkes joined the Democratic Labour Party, and stood in the St Peter constituency seat in 1991 against Owen Arthur.[2] She lost, and Arthur became the prime minister. He continued to be Prime Minister when he beat her into second place in the same constituency in 1994 and 1999.[1] In 1999 she became the president of the National Organisation of Women (NOW).[1][3]
She was elected to be the president of the Democratic League of Women in 2005. In 2015 she resigned that position when she was chosen as her country's high commissioner to Canada.[1][4]
In 2025 she was speaking out in support of the DLP leader Ralph Thorne who was the leader of the opposition. She criticised the government and in particular its budget and its support for trade unionists.[5]
References
- ^ a b c d "The Democratic League of Women" (PDF). The Barbados Advocate. 15 March 2015. p. 13. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 December 2025. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
- ^ "General Election Report" (PDF). Barbados government. March 1991. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 December 2025. Retrieved 7 Dec 2025.
- ^ "Gender and the Economic Crisis - Women as Change Agents". UNWomen. 5 May 2015. Archived from the original on 11 December 2025. Retrieved 7 Dec 2025.
- ^ "Barbados Appoints New Envoys". Barbados gov. 23 Jan 2015. Retrieved 7 Dec 2025.
- ^ Brathwaite, Sheria (2025-03-12). "DLP members back Thorne, criticise budget". Barbados Today. Archived from the original on 2025-10-09. Retrieved 2025-12-07.