Sandra Granger

Granger was born in the Bourda neighbourhood of Georgetown, British Guiana.^[1] Her father, born in Suriname, was of Chinese descent, while her mother was from the North-West District and of Amerindian ancestry.^[2] She attended Sacred Heart Primary School and St. Joseph High School.^[1] She married David A. Granger in 1970, and they subsequently had two daughters, Han and Afuwa.^[3]

Granger left the workforce after the birth of her second child, having worked for periods as a travel agent and later as a scriptwriter and traffic manager for Radio Demerara. Once her children were older, she began studying at the University of Guyana.^[1] She received two Bachelor of Arts degrees, one in English literature and one in Portuguese, and then attended the University of Pittsburgh on a Fulbright Scholarship, where she graduated with an M.A. in Brazilian literature and a graduate certificate in Latin American studies. After returning to her homeland, Granger spent several years as a lecturer in the University of Guyana's Department of Modern Languages, and served as assistant dean of the Faculty of Arts.^[4] In 1989 she began working as a rapporteur for the Secretariat of the Caribbean Community, where one of her first tasks was to report on the public reaction to the Grand Anse Declaration.^[5] She eventually became executive management officer in the Office of the Secretary-General, retiring in 2008.^[4]

Granger's husband, a former chief of the Guyana Defence Force, was sworn in as president in May 2015.^[3] As First Lady, her areas of interest have included women's rights, the prevention of sexual violence, and the welfare of children and the elderly.^[6][7] The Stabroek News has described as her a "modern, activist First Lady with an official office, a public policy agenda that is complementary to the government, regular speaking engagements, and a strong social media presence".^[8]