Mia Mottley: Barbados’ first female leader on a mission to transform island

Alongside cutting ties to the monarchy, new PM believes the region represents an untapped civilisation

A republic has been proposed and postponed by Barbadian prime ministers for decades. Battling a pandemic that has devastated the country's tourism economy, Mia Mottley, the country's first female leader, had ample excuses to again kick the constitutional can down the road.

Instead, at the stroke of midnight on Monday, she oversaw the transition of the Caribbean island out of the realm of the British monarchy - the country's first local head of state, also a woman, Sandra Mason - and in case that were not enough, bestowed the title of national hero on the Barbadian megastar Rihanna in one of the new republic's first acts.