Rosemary Barkett

Rosemary Barkett (born August 29, 1939) is a Judge of the Iran – United States Claims Tribunal. Previously, she served as a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Prior to her nomination for that post, she was Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court, where she was the first woman to serve on that court. Born in Mexico to parents who were immigrants from Syria, she is classified as the first woman, Arab American, and Hispanic judge on the Florida Supreme Court.

Background

Born Rosemary Barakat in Ciudad Victoria, Taumaulipas, Mexico, she was one of seven children who survived to adulthood, of Assad and Mariam Barakat, recently immigrated from Syria. In January 1946, when she was six, her entire family immigrated with her family to Miami, Florida. As a native Mexican by birth, Barakat spoke only Spanish until after living in Miami. The family changed the spelling of its surname to Barkett. She became a U.S. citizen in 1958 at the age of 18.