Kamina Johnson Smith

Born in St. Andrew, Jamaica, Johnson Smith is one of four children of former diplomat Anthony Johnson,[1] and is married to Jason Smith. She received a Master of Laws in Commercial Law from the London School of Economics, a Bachelor of Laws from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill and a Bachelor of Arts in French and International Relations from the University of the West Indies, Mona.[2]

Johnson Smith is also 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. Johnson Smith also completed professional certificates including Legal and Diplomatic French in Guadeloupe, as well as Negotiation at the Harvard Law School Professional Programme in Boston, MA.

In 2014 she opened her own law firm, after serving as Company Secretary and Head of Corporate Affairs and Projects (Legal) of Cable & Wireless Jamaica Limited. She served on the Corporate Governance Committee of the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica (PSOJ) for several years, and was a Director of the Factories Corporation of Jamaica and the Early Childhood Commission.[3]

Being highly committed to public service and volunteerism, Johnson Smith served as a member of the Advisory Board of the iLead Education Reform Project sponsored by the Jamaica National Foundation. She has successfully managed several philanthropic projects of the LIME Foundation, including international conferences on Children and Internet Safety and the establishment of a computer centre and training programme at the Athlone Wing of the Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre, a residential home for disadvantaged children living with physical disabilities. She served on the Corporate Governance Committee of the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica (PSOJ) for six (6) years and has also served as Director of the Factories Corporation of Jamaica and the Early Childhood Commission.

Johnson Smith has been a Senator since 2009 and has served in many roles, including Spokesperson on Education and Youth. On 7^th March 2016, she was sworn in as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica and was appointed to serve concurrently as Leader of Government Business in the Senate and was re-appointed to those offices following the JLP's re-election in September 2020.

Within the Cabinet, Johnson Smith chairs the International Relations Sub-Committee and is a member of the Economic Growth and Job Creation Sub-Committee and Jamaica’s National Security Council. [4]

In addition to her portfolio responsibilities, Johnson Smith has a keen interest in governance, education, youth and gender affairs. She has successfully tabled Parliamentary motions regarding public sector governance, re-integration 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.

Johnson Smith has expanded the number of countries with which Jamaica has established diplomatic relations and promulgated a Consular Manual to improve service delivery to citizens overseas. She has presided over two biennial Diaspora Conferences and has undertaken Diaspora consultations and engagements in several countries; tabled a National Diaspora Policy and established the Global Jamaica Diaspora Council and the Global Jamaica Diaspora Youth Council. During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, she established and chaired the National External Support Coordination Committee to ensure effective coordination, alignment, oversight and accountability for bilateral and international donations in support of the Government’s response to the pandemic.[5]

Under her Foreign Trade portfolio, Johnson Smith oversaw the development of a National Foreign Trade Policy and Action Plan and the creation of an Economic Diplomacy Programme in conjunction with Jamaica’s Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (JAMPRO).[6] She has initiated the review of Jamaica’s Foreign Trade Action Plan, and re-activated the Jamaica Trade Policy Advisory Group.

On the international stage, Johnson Smith's international roles have included chairmanship of the CARIFORUM group,[7] in which capacity she led the opening of discussions with the UK on post-Brexit trade arrangements. She served as President of the ACP Council of Ministers in 2018, [8] presiding over the process which secured the negotiating mandate of the ACP for a post-Cotonou Agreement with the EU. In the same year, she also chaired the CARICOM's Community Council of Ministers [9] and attended G20 and G7 meetings, the latter being the first for a Jamaican Foreign Minister. In 2021 Johnson Smith chaired the CARICOM Council on Trade and Economic Development, and since March 2019 Jamaica has been the ACP Coordinator within the WTO, a role headed by Johnson Smith. She is a member of the recently launched EU-LAC Foundation Women’s Network. [10]

As Leader of Government Business in the Senate, in her first term of office, she led over 110 debates including the passage of 69 statutes and 48 resolutions across government portfolios - ranging from the establishment of states of public emergency to curb the country’s inordinately high crime rate; reforms to the justice system and the fight against human trafficking; the strengthening of laws addressing AML/CFT frameworks; the modernization of corporate, partnership and trust laws, as well as intellectual property frameworks; data protection; public procurement; road safety; building and land titling. She has served on Joint Select Committees reviewing laws related to violence against women and children, reform of the anti-corruption institutional framework in Jamaica, reform of Jamaica’s customs law and the law to establish the independence of the Central Bank. [11]

Johnson Smith launched Jamaica’s candidature for Secretary-General of the Commonwealth in London, United Kingdom in April 2022. Jamaica received strong support from many countries including Belize, India, Singapore, Trinidad and Tobago and the United Kingdom. At the 2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held in Kigali, Rwanda, Jamaica's candidate - Johnson Smith - narrowly lost to the incumbent, reportedly with a result of 27 votes to 24.[12]