TIME Magazine says Barbados PM Mia Mottley is one of ‘the world's most influential people’

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has been listed among Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2022, appearing on one of the five global covers released Monday morning. 

The magazine describes Mottley as a Bold and fearless, possessing a great intellect and wit. It says the Prime Minister is a brilliant politician who knows how to shake things up.

"Since she was a young woman growing up in the Caribbean, Mia Mottley has always cared deeply about critical issues impacting the world. From poverty to debt to climate change, she is a vocal advocate on the world stage for responsible stewardship of our planet, so that nations large and small and people rich and poor can survive and thrive together, the magazine says.

“@miaamormottley is an embodiment of our conscience, reminding us all to treat our planet and therefore one another with love, dignity, and care,” writes Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (@NOIweala) #TIME100 https://t.co/HuMRgPMnZr pic.twitter.com/DsNieGB1Qt

— TIME (@TIME) May 23, 2022

"At COP26 in Glasgow late last year, she chided the world’s leaders for not working more diligently to limit the potential catastrophic impacts of climate change, telling them to try harder.

While chair of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund’s Development Committee, 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. After all: one climate-change-induced hurricane can take a significant toll on that wealth.

The rationale for Mottley's inclusion on the list was penned by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general of the World Trade Organization, herself an environmental sustainability advocate.

"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.

Mottley's  has also been lauded for  spearheaded other progressive initiatives as prime minister. These include starting the process to abolish the secondary school entrance exam, long regarded as a thorn in the side of equitable education in the region; declaring her intent for Barbados to recognise same-sex unions; and delivering on her promise of making Barbados a republic.

Telling TIME Magazine that her country and the wider region “have been the victims of imperial ambitions for too long,” she wanted to let “that little Barbadian boy, that little Barbadian girl, believe that they could aspire to the the head of state in their own country.”