Business Fit Magazine Special Editions Mother & Daughter Special Edition | Page 28

St Lucia
Raquel Du Boulay-Chastanet 
Who are you? Tell us about
yourself.
I was born and grew up on the small island of
Saint Lucia as part of a very close family - one of
the oldest French families on the island. In fact,
the Du Boulays have been on the island since the
1760s. My mother is half English, half Polish and
moved to the island from the UK when she was
only 16 – and never left. I grew up with a strong
understanding of both my Saint Lucian and my
British heritage and although I studied in various
parts of the world, always resolved to return here
once I had a family. I’d like to think that I am a
strong and independent woman, determined
once I set goals for myself and a dedicated wife,
woman, daughter, sister and friend. I am also an
attorney-at-law lucky enough to be in practice
with a friend who is like a sister to me.
How do you balance your life
with a law practice, being the
Prime Minister’s wife and a
mother?
Raquel Du
Boulay-Chastanet
& Rhyan Chastanet
Interview with the First Lady of St. Lucia
It is a constant juggling act as I have a fairly busy
practice, yet I have to find time to attend many
engagements and at times I have to leave my
practice to travel abroad on state visits. Through
my Make It Happen Foundation, I also work on
some charitable initiatives which are important
to me such as improving work conditions for
the island’s police and firefighters and assisting
primary schools in building libraries.
I am not sure I do find a perfect balance as
spending time away from the office can make it
difficult to keep focused on work assignments
and at times, I do feel like I am unfairly adding to
my partner Michelle’s workload as she picks up
the slack when I am away. But we make a great
team and are the closest of friends and I have to
say she has been incredibly understanding when
I have to leave the firm, but I try to be careful not
to take advantage of her.
I will only travel where I am advised that I must or
where my presence on the trip can be helpful to
Saint Lucia in some way. Finding quality time for
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