Bajans express pride as Mottley named one of the most influential people in the world

Barbadians on Monday celebrated the latest accolade of Prime Minister Mia Mottley who was named by TIME magazine as among the 100 most influential people in the world for 2022.

Mottley features on one of the five world covers and is listed among global leaders that include Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russian leader Vladimir Putin, US President Joe Biden, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, in the 2022 TIME100.

Editor-in-Chief and Chief Executive Officer of TIME Edward Felsenthal said Prime Minister Mottley was deserving of a spot on the list because “advocates for the planet challenged us too”.

Pointing to a report released in the past year by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that warned the world to change course, Felsenthal also highlighted the impact of Mottley’s speech at the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow last November.

“In a speech heard around the world, Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados and a voice for countries on the front lines of climate change, made clear the intersection between environmental action and equity,” he wrote.

Scores of Barbadians took to social media to convey their well wishes.

Marilyn Ghany: “Congratulations Madame Prime Minister. A well-deserved honour. The best Prime Minister ever.”

Shervonne Hollis: “Well deserved. Barbados should be proud of such a great leader, Mia Amor Mottley.”

Marina Taylor: “Thanks for your service to all of us.”

Den Abbott: “Congratulations to the shrewdest Caribbean leader. Another milestone.”

Vern Pierre: “Congratulations to the boss lady.”

Director-General of the World Trade Organisation Okonjo-Iweala, in her tribute featured on TIME, said Mottley was “bold, fearless”, adding that “possessing a great intellect and wit, the Prime Minister is a brilliant politician who knows how to shake things up”.

Okonjo-Iweala highlighted Mottley’s riveting speeches at COP26 in Glasgow late last year, when she chided global leaders for not working more diligently to limit the potential catastrophic impacts of climate change.

She further noted Mottley’s work as Chair of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund’s Development Committee, when she reminded the world’s finance gurus that the level of a country’s per capita income may not always be the best measure of its wealth.

“Mia Mottley is an icon in her country, having won re-election by a landslide. The Prime Minister strides boldly on the world stage. She is an embodiment of our conscience, reminding us all to treat our planet, and therefore one another, with love, dignity, and care,” Okonjo-Iweala wrote. (SD)