Caribbean Investment IQ December 2013 | Page 62

The Honorable Christopher Peter Sinckler, MP Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Barbados Conversations Bio The Honourable Christopher Peter Sinckler has held the post of Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs since the 4th October, 2010. Prior to this, Minister Sinckler also held the portfolios of the Ministry of Social Care, Constituency Empowerment, Urban and Rural Development as well as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade. Prior to his ministerial appointment, Mr. Sinckler worked in the public, private, and civil society sectors in the Caribbean, on policy issues relating to macro-economic reform, trade liberalisation, poverty reduction and social development. He has worked covering institutions such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Inter-American Development Bank, World Trade Organisation, African Caribbean and Pacific Group of States and the European Union among others. In this regard, he has been a strong advocate for developing processes that engender the region’s external trade competitiveness in a sustainable manner and has been a leader in regional and global civil society for the past 10 years. 62 Personal/Professional The Honourable Christopher Peter Sinckler was born in Barbados on October 1st, 1967. In 1990, he graduated from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus with a Bachelor of Arts, Uppers Second Class Honours and in 2005 was awarded a Master’s of Science degree in International Trade Policy. From 1999 until his appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Mr. Sinckler served as the Executive Coordinator of the Caribbean Policy Development Centre (CDPC) – a coalition of Caribbean, non-governmental organisations that has lobbied regional and international governments on behalf of the sections of the Caribbean populations on international trade and development issues and their implications for the region. Prior to assuming this position, he was the CDPC’s Senior Programme OfficerStructural Adjustment and Economic Liberalisation from 1994 to 1998. Caribbean Investment iQ December 2013 Between 1987 and 1989, he was a Research Assistant at the Learning Centre and served as the Personal Aide to the former Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Barbados, Sir Lloyd Erskine Sandiford, during the period 1990 to 1994. He was a tutor at the University of the West Indies in Government and Political Science from 1990 to 1994 and from 2000 to 2003, he held the position of Director, Global Secretariat, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)