Sylvanie Burton

Sylvanie Burton, born in 1956 in Crayfish River in Dominica's Kalinago Territory, has served as President of Dominica since October 2, 2023, becoming the country's ninth president and the first woman and first Indigenous Kalinago person to hold the office. A member of the Dominica Labour Party, she worked for years in the public service as a development officer in the Ministry of Kalinago Affairs and later as permanent secretary across several ministries, including Community Development, Environment, Foreign Affairs and Youth and Social Services, before her election. She holds a bachelor's degree in rural development from St Francis Xavier University in Canada and a master's degree in project management from the University of Manchester.