By: C. Harrison/March 21, 2016

A CLOSER LOOK

Senator the Honorable Kamina Johnson Smith/Minister of Foreign Affair and Foreign Trade

New York, NY…. Senator, the Honorable Kamina Johnson Smith, was appointed March 7th to Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica West Indies.

Minister Johnson Smith, is an Attorney at Law by profession, with 15 years, at the Jamaican Bar.  February 2015, she was lauded and appointed Spokesperson on Education and Youth. Before this, she opened her own law firm after serving as Company Secretary and Head Corporate Affairs and Projects (Legal) of Cable & Wireless Jamaica Limited in 2014.

Accordingly, the Minister has a keen interest in Governance, education, youth and gender affairs, and has successfully tabled Parliamentary motions regarding public sector governance, reintegration of teen mothers in the formal school system, and the review of laws related to violence against women, children, the elderly and person with disabilities.

Senator Johnson Smith, holds a Master of Law in Commercial Law from the London School of Economics and Political Science, a Bachelor of Law from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill and a Bachelor of Sets in French and International Relations from the University of the west Indies, Mona. During her years at Cave Hill, the Minister also pursued courses in various aspects of Public and Private International Law. She also subsequently completed professional certificates, including areas such as Legal and Diplomatic French in Guadeloupe as well as Negotiation at the Harvard Law School Professional Program in Boston, Massachusetts.

The Minister is also a graduate of the Norman Manley Law School, where she was Valedictorian, the recipient of awards in Legal Remedies and Advocacy and represented the School as Lead Advocate in mooting competitions in Trinidad and Tobago and Malaysia.

Highly committed to public service and volunteerism, the Minister recently served as a member of the Advisory Board of the ILeed Education Reform Project sponsored by the Jamaica National Foundation. She has successfully managed several philanthropic projects of the LIME Foundation, including international conferences on Children and internet safety and the establishment of a computer centre and training program, at the Athlone Wing of the Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre; a residential home for disadvantaged children living with physical disabilities. Moreover, she serve on the Corporate Governance Committee of the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica (PSOJ) for six years, and has also served as Director of the Factories Corporation of Jamaica and the Early Childhood Commission.

The Minister believes passionately that Jamaica’s best days still lie ahead and is committed to playing her part in seeing them realized.

Minister Johnson Smith was born in St. Andrew, Jamaica and is married. Her recreational activities include sport, yoga, reading and dance.