Sarah Lucy Flood-Beaubrun

Sarah Lucy Flood-Beaubrun, not unaccustomed to blazing new trails in a 10-year political career, started a new chapter in St Lucia’s political history when on January 9 she became the first woman to serve as Speaker in that country’s House of Assembly.

The 38-year-old attorney at law, a former government minister in a St. Lucia Labour Party administration, was nominated by the United Workers Party which swept to power with an 11-6 victory in the December 11 general election that ended two terms of SLP governance.

Flood-Beaubrun who quickly gained a reputation as a firebrand politician was first elected to Parliament in 1997 to represent the Castries Central constituency and served as Minister of Health, Human Services, Family Affairs and Women in former Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony’s cabinet.

She was dismissed from her cabinet post in 2004 after publicly criticising her former cabinet colleagues over a bill permitting the legal termination of pregnancies in special circumstances and went on to form the Organisation for National Empowerment, a fledging third party which never made a great impact on the St Lucian electoral landscape.

The former minister continued to serve as an Independent member of Parliament until tendering her resignation in January 2006, triggering a by-election held on in March 2006, but failed to gain a fresh mandate.

The new speaker pledged to conduct her duties with fairness and impartiality that is required of her and called for the cooperation of all legislators to ensure that the rules and Standing Orders of the Parliament would be adhered to.