Marion Vernese Williams GCM, is a

Barbadian Barbadian may refer to: * anything related to Barbados * Barbadians, people from Barbados or of Barbadian descent ** Afro-Barbadians ** Barbadian Americans ** Barbadian Brazilians ** Barbadian British ** Barbadian Canadians ** White Barbadian * C ...

economist, banker,

accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certif ...

and

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

. She is a recipient of the

Gold Crown of Merit The Order of Barbados is a national Order of honours and decorations for Barbados. History The first Order of Barbados was instituted by Queen Elizabeth II by letters patent dated 25 July 1980. With Barbados becoming a republic on 30 November 20 ...

Early life and education

Williams was born Marion Mottley, the daughter of two Barbadian teachers, Rudolph and Cledlene Mottley. She was educated at St George's Primary School, St Michael's School, and from the age of 12 at Queen's College. She earned a degree in Economics in 1968 from the

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 18 English-speaking countries and territories in t ...

, and later a Master's in Economics as the first postgraduate in the field at the university's Cave Hill campus. In 1995, she earned her Ph.D. in Economics at the

University of Surrey The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its Royal Charter, royal charter in 1966, along with a Plate glass university, number of other institutions following recommendations ...

, with a thesis on prudential regulation and

economic liberalisation Economic liberalization, or economic liberalisation, is the lessening of government regulations and restrictions in an economy in exchange for greater participation by private entities. In politics, the doctrine is associated with classical liber ...

Career

After her bachelor's degree, she worked for the

Eastern Caribbean Currency Authority The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) is a supranational central bank that serves Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, all members of the Org ...

, the precursor of the

Central Bank of Barbados The Central Bank of Barbados (CBB) is the national monetary authority and central bank responsible for providing advice to the Government of Barbados on banking and other financial and monetary matters. The Central Bank of Barbados, was establis ...

, where she was eventually appointed Research Director. In 1973 she joined the Central Bank, where she held numerous senior and managerial positions and was appointed Governor in 1999.Alt URL
/ref> During her tenure leading

monetary policy Monetary policy is the policy adopted by the monetary authority of a nation to affect monetary and other financial conditions to accomplish broader objectives like high employment and price stability (normally interpreted as a low and stable rat ...

of Barbados, then- Barbadian Prime Minister David Thompson credited the team led by Williams as helping the Barbadian economy emerge relatively unaffected by the financial crises affecting other parts of the globe.Alt URL
/ref> Upon her retirement in 2009, Thompson announced that he had appointed her as the Barbadian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. Williams assumed the post on 1 February 2010, and presented her

credentials A credential is a piece of any document that details a qualification, competence, or authority issued to an individual by a third party with a relevant or '' de facto'' authority or assumed competence to do so. Examples of credentials include ac ...

to the UN Office Secretary-General,

Sergei Ordzhonikidze Sergei Alexandrovich Ordzhonikidze (; born 14 March 1946) is a Russian diplomat. He was the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva from 2002 to 2011. Early life and education He was born in Moscow in early 1946. His mother ...

, four days later.

Personal life

She is married to Clyde Williams; they have two children.

Publications

* ''Liberalising a Regulated Banking System: The Caribbean Case'',

Ashgate Publishing Ashgate Publishing was an academic book and journal publisher based in Farnham (Surrey, United Kingdom). It was established in 1967 and specialised in the social sciences, arts, humanities and professional practice. It had an American office in ...

, 1996, . *

Awards

* Honorary

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

( Cave Hill)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Marion Vernese Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Governors of the Central Bank of Barbados Barbadian economists University of the West Indies alumni Alumni of the University of Surrey Permanent representatives of Barbados to the United Nations in Geneva Queen's College (Barbados) alumni Barbadian women ambassadors Women economists 20th-century economists 21st-century economists