Her Excellency Dr. Dame Minita Gordon
Dame Elmira Minita Gordon, GCMG, GCVO, D. Phil., was the first Governor-General of Belize from its independence in 1981 to 1993. She was born in Belize City on 30 December 1930. Dame Minita began her education at St. John’s Girl’s School and St. Mary’s Primary. Her professional education was done locally at St. George’s Teacher’s College and enhanced with a course from the College of Preceptors, Oxford, England. She pursued postgraduate education at the universities of Nottingham and Birmingham in England, the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada, and the University of Toronto, Canada.
She became Belize’s first trained psychologist when she returned to Belize in 1980. Dame Minita was a passionate member of the girl guides from 1946 and once held the position of District Commissioner of the Girl Guides. She became a Justice of the Peace in 1974 and received lifetime membership in the British Red Cross in 1975.
Dame Elmira Minita Gordon became Belize’s first Governor General and the Queen’s representative when Belize got its political independence in 1981. She was the first woman in a Commonwealth Realm to assume the position of Governor General.
As Governor General, she also held the title of Patron to the Scout Association of Belize and the Belize Girl Guides Movement.
Official Photo of Dr. Dame Minita Gordon