Press Release – Mrs. Janet Lissette Raquel Bostwick-Dean received her Letter of Appointment to the Senate during a ceremony at Government House on Monday 2 December 2019.
The appointment follows the resignation of Senate president Mrs. Kay Forbes-Smith who will take up the post of Managing Director of the newly created Bahamas Disaster Reconstruction Authority. Senators will elect a new president.
In his remarks at Monday’s ceremony, Prime Minister the Most Hon. Dr. Hubert Minnis thanked Mrs. Bostwick-Dean, the managing partner in the Bostwick and Bostwick law firm, for accepting the appointment.
“As a mother and citizen, I know that she will also work tirelessly to ensure that we continue to provide greater economic and social opportunities for our people; to strengthen our democracy and to make our country more resilient in the face of the multiple threats of the global climate emergency,” said Prime Minister Minnis.
Mrs. Bostwick-Dean obtained a B.A. from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1991 and graduated from Buckingham University with an LL.B with honours in 1995.
In 1996 she completed her external Bar examinations in London and was called to the external Bar of England and Wales as a member of Gray’s Inn before returning to The Bahamas to be called at the Bahamian Bar in October of that year.
Mrs. Bostwick-Dean specializes in commercial litigation but she enjoys a general practice with a focus on complex litigation in multiple disciplines of law.
“In recent times [Mrs. Bostwick-Dean], along with an associate in her firm, has helped to secure several leading decisions dealing with juvenile rights,” noted the Prime Minister.
“She is a passionate advocate for youth justice, for whom she will no doubt advocate in her new role.”
Mrs. Bostwick-Dean has been a member of the Bahamas Development Bank’s board and is currently a commissioner at the Insurance Commission.
She is the daughter of J. Henry Bostwick, Q.C., and the Hon. Dame Janet G. Bostwick. Dame Janet was the first woman elected to the House of Assembly in 1982 and served in Cabinet following the 1992 General Election. Mr. Bostwick served as Leader of the Opposition and in the Senate.
“[Mrs. Bostwick-Dean] has the examples of her parents and others but she has used these examples to become her own woman,” said Prime Minister Minnis. “She will chart her own path.”