The Foreign Ministry of Jamaica

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade

Sen. Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith has been an Attorney-at-Law for close to 20 years, having worked both in private practice and as corporate in-house counsel. On 7th March 2016, she was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica – the first woman to hold the post, and the first to be born after her country’s independence.  Senator Johnson Smith was concurrently appointed Leader of Government Business in the Senate and Chair of various Senate Committees. 

A Government Senator between 2009 and 2012 and Opposition Senator between 2012 and 2016, this is Minister Johnson Smith’s third appointment as a Senator.  In her last term she also served as Opposition Whip and Spokesperson on Education and Youth. 

As Jamaica’s Foreign Minister, she has represented her country at numerous bi-lateral, regional, hemispheric and international fora in Africa, the Americas, Asia, the Caribbean, and Europe. 

Minister Johnson Smith recently served as President of the ACP Council of Ministers February 2018 to July 31, 2018 during which she presided over the 107th Session of the ACP Council of Ministers and the 43rd Session of the Joint ACP-EU Council of Ministers held 26th May to 1st June 2018 in Lomè, Togo.  She also chaired the CARIFORUM group from July 2016 to June 2017.

She has a keen interest in governance, education, youth and gender affairs, and has successfully tabled Parliamentary motions regarding public sector governance, reintegration of teen mothers in the formal school system, and the review of laws related to violence against women, children, the elderly and persons living with disabilities.
Senator Johnson Smith holds a Master of Laws in Commercial Law from the London School of Economics and Political Science, a Bachelor of Laws from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill; and a Bachelor of Arts in French from the University of the West Indies, Mona, where she also pursued courses in International Relations.
She is a graduate of the Norman Manley Law School where she was Valedictorian, the recipient of awards in Legal Remedies and Advocacy and represented the School as Lead Advocate in mooting competitions in Trinidad and Tobago and Malaysia.

Highly committed to public service and volunteerism, the Minister has served various philanthropic organizations in different capacities.  She also served on the Corporate Governance Committee of the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica (PSOJ) for six years and as a Director of the Factories Corporation of Jamaica and the Early Childhood Commission.