Dee-Ann Kentish-Rogers

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix =

| name = Dee-Ann Kentish-Rogers

| image = Dee Anne Kentish-Rogers political promo pose.jpg

| caption = Kentish-Rogers in 2020

| office = Minister for Education and Social Development

| term_start = 30 June 2020

| term_end =

| predecessor =

| premier = Ellis Webster

| office1 = Member of the House of Assembly

| term_start1 = 30 June 2020

| term_end1 =

| predecessor1 = Victor Banks

| constituency1 = Valley South

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1993|1|13|df=y}}

| birth_place = The Valley, Anguilla

| death_date =

| death_place =

| religion =

| party = Anguilla Progressive Movement

| alma_mater = University of Birmingham (LLB)

| profession =

| nationality =

| spouse =

| children =

| module = {{Infobox pageant titleholder|embed=yes

| height = {{height|m=1.75}}

| hair_colour = Black

| eye_colour = Brown

| title = Miss Anguilla 2017
Miss Universe Great Britain 2018

| competitions = Miss Universe Great Britain 2018
(Winner)
Miss Universe 2018
(Top 20)

}}

Dee-Ann Kentish-Rogers (born 13 January 1993) is an Anguillan politician, lawyer, athlete, former model and beauty pageant titleholder. A member of the Anguilla Progressive Movement, Kentish-Rogers has served as the Minister for Education and Social Development in the government of Ellis Webster since 2020. She has also represented the constituency of Valley South in the House of Assembly since 2020. Since 2021, she has been a Millennium Fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C.{{Cite web |title=Dee-Ann Kentish-Rogers |url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/expert/dee-ann-kentish-rogers/ |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=Atlantic Council |language=en-US}}

Kentish-Rogers first received national recognition in athletics, competing for Anguilla at the 2010 and 2014 Commonwealth Games, and at the 2012 CARIFTA Games. She afterwards became a model and beauty pageant titleholder, winning Miss Anguilla 2017 and Miss Universe Great Britain 2018, where she was the second Black British woman after Anita St. Rose in 1996 to win the title.{{Cite web |date=2019-08-22 |title=ANITA ST.ROSE: The Miss C&C who became the first black Miss Great Britain - Miss Caribbean & Commonwealth |url=https://misscaribbeanandcommonwealth.com/2019/08/22/anita-st-rose-the-miss-cc-who-became-the-first-black-miss-great-britain/ |access-date=2024-05-30 |language=en-US}} Kentish-Rogers later went on to place in the Top 20 at Miss Universe 2018 as the British representative.

Early life, athletics, and education

Kentish-Rogers was born on 13 January 1993 in The Valley on the island of Anguilla, a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, and was raised on her family farm.{{cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/deeann-kentishrogers-interview-miss-universe-a3906461.html|title=Meet Dee-Ann Kentish-Rogers, the new Miss Universe Great Britain|work=Evening Standard|date=8 August 2018|last=Strick|first=Katie}} Growing up, Kentish-Rogers resided in a house with 11 other family members, including several male cousins, and was a self-described "tomboy" who played football. Kentish-Rogers later began competing in athletics, beginning with the 400 metres and later switching to heptathlon. As an athlete, Kentish-Rogers represented Anguilla at the 2010 and 2014 Commonwealth Games, and at the 2012 CARIFTA Games, with the ultimate goal of joining Team GB at the 2016 Summer Olympics.{{cite web|url=https://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/2020092797983/dee-ann-kentish-rogers-talks-inspiring-role-models/|title=Dee-Ann Kentish-Rogers opens up about the inspiring role models in her family - exclusive|date=27 September 2020|work=Hello!}} While competing at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, she suffered a knee injury which put an end to her athletics career.

Kentish-Rogers subsequently relocated to Birmingham in England to enroll in the University of Birmingham as a law student. She graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree and qualified as a barrister in 2018.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-44858817|title=Miss Universe GB: First black winner Dee-Ann Kentish-Rogers on 'great achievement'|date=18 July 2018|work=BBC News|last=Barrett|first=Gena-mour}}

Pageantry

Kentish-Rogers began her pageantry career in 2017, after she was crowned Miss Anguilla 2017. Following her return to Birmingham the following year, Kentish-Rogers registered as a contestant at Miss Universe Great Britain 2018; she was eligible for the pageant due to her residence in Birmingham, as eligibility is reserved for British citizens resident in only England, Scotland, or Wales.{{cite web|url=https://www.missuniversegb.co.uk/missuniversegb|title=About Miss Universe GB|publisher=Miss Universe Great Britain|access-date=23 August 2023}} The pageant was held on 14 July 2018 in Newport, Wales, and Kentish-Rogers went on to be declared the winner.{{cite web|url=http://www.missuniversegb.co.uk/pastgrandfinals.html|title=Road to Miss Universe Great Britain 2018|publisher = Miss Universe Great Britain|date= 6 February 2018}}{{Cite web |last=Blair |first=Olivia |date=July 23, 2018 |title=Meet The First Black Woman Ever To Be Crowned Miss Universe Great Britain |url=https://www.elle.com/uk/life-and-culture/culture/a22437359/dee-ann-kentish-rogers-miss-universe-great-britain/ |access-date=January 15, 2022 |website=Elle |language=en-GB}} Following her win, she became the first Black British woman to win the title.{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/miss-universe-great-britain-winner-black-woman-dee-ann-rogers-anguila-a8450856.html|title=Black woman wins Miss Universe Great Britain for first time|date=17 July 2018|work=The Independent|last=Petter|first=Olivia}}{{cite web|url=https://abovethelaw.com/2018/07/law-school-graduate-is-first-black-woman-to-be-crowned-miss-universe-great-britain/|title=Law School Graduate Is First Black Woman To Be Crowned Miss Universe Great Britain|date=20 July 2018|work=Above the Law|last=Zaretsky|first=Staci}}

As Miss Universe Great Britain, Kentish-Rogers received the right to represent Great Britain at the Miss Universe 2018 pageant. The pageant was held on 17 December 2018 in Bangkok, where Kentish-Rogers went on to place in the Top 20, advancing as one of the continental semifinalists from Europe.{{cite news |date=31 July 2018 |title=Thailand to host Miss Universe 2018 as pageant returns to Asia |work=ABS-CBN News |url=https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/07/31/18/thailand-to-host-miss-universe-2018-as-pageant-returns-to-asia |access-date=31 July 2018}}{{Cite web |date=16 December 2018 |title=Miss Universe 2018: Catriona Gray of the Philippines wins crown |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/miss-universe-2018-catriona-gray-philippines-wins-today-2018-12-16/ |access-date=7 May 2022 |website=CBS News |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=17 December 2018 |title=Her mom once dreamed she'd win Miss Universe in a red dress. She did. |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/miss-universe-2018-miss-philippines-catriona-gray-n948681 |access-date=7 May 2022 |website=NBC News |language=en}}

Political career

Kentish-Rogers began a political career in 2020, after announcing her candidacy on behalf of the Anguilla Progressive Movement (APM) in the 2020 general election. Kentish-Rogers was selected to contest the Valley South constituency for the Anguilla House of Assembly, standing against incumbent premier Victor Banks. The election was held on 29 June 2020, where Kentish-Rogers was elected to the Anguillan parliament. She received the highest number of votes of any constituency candidate standing in the election, and additionally became the youngest person elected to the House of Assembly, aged 27.{{cite web|url=http://elections.gov.ai/Voting/DetailsView|title=2020 Elections Results|access-date=23 August 2023|publisher=Government of Anguilla}}

Following the certification of election results, the APM were determined to have won the election, securing a majority in the House of Assembly.{{cite web|url=https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/anguilla-progressive-movement-to-form-new-government-in-anguilla|title=Anguilla Progressive Movement to form new government in Anguilla|date=29 June 2020|work=Daily Herald}}{{cite web|url=https://axanewz.com/e-news/?p=5866|title=Dr. Ellis Lorenzo Webster sworn in, as APM takes over in Anguilla|date=1 July 2020|work=AxAnewz}} Party leader Ellis Webster later took office as premier and formed a seven-person government, nominating Kentish-Rogers to serve as education and social development minister.{{cite news |last1=Baptiste |first1=Dionne |title=Dynamic Dee-Ann, committed to the development of her beloved Anguilla |url=https://www.loopnewscaribbean.com/content/dynamic-dee-ann-committed-development-her-beloved-anguilla |access-date=17 September 2020 |work=www.loopnewscaribbean.com |date=15 July 2020 |language=en |archive-date=13 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813020717/https://www.loopnewscaribbean.com/content/dynamic-dee-ann-committed-development-her-beloved-anguilla |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |title=MINISTER DEE-ANN KENTISH-ROGERS WELCOMED AT CHURCH |url=https://theanguillian.com/2020/09/minister-dee-ann-kentish-rogers-welcomed-at-church/ |access-date=17 September 2020 |work=The Anguillian Newspaper |date=7 September 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://yen.com.gh/162259-dee-ann-kentish-rogers-27-year-1st-black-miss-universe-great-britain-govt-minister.html|title=Dee-Ann Kentish-Rogers: 27-year-old 1st Black Miss Universe Great Britain becomes gov't minister|date=14 July 2020|work=YEN|last=Crabbe|first=Nathaniel}} In February 2022, Kentish-Rogers served as acting premier for ten days, while Webster was not present in Anguilla; aged 29, she became the youngest person to serve in the position in Anguillan history.{{cite web|url=https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/world-news/20220221/kentish-rogers-sworn-acting-premier|title=Kentish-Rogers sworn in as acting premier|date=21 February 2022|work=The Gleaner}}{{Cite web |title=Anguilla: Kentish-Rogers sworn in as acting Premier {{!}} Loop Caribbean News |url=https://caribbean.loopnews.com/content/kentish-rogers-sworn-acting-anguilla-premier |access-date=2022-05-01 |website=Loop News |language=en}}

In June 2023, Kentish-Rogers resigned from the government and from the APM in protest of the government's handling of the implementation of the goods and service tax (GST), but was reappointed one week later.{{cite web|url=https://caribbean.loopnews.com/content/dee-ann-kentish-rodgers-reappointed-anguillas-government|title=Dee-Ann Kentish Rodgers reappointed to Anguilla's Government|work=Loop Caribbean News|date=4 July 2023}}

Personal life

As of 2020, Kentish-Rogers continued to reside in the family home where she was raised in The Valley. While reigning as Miss Universe Great Britain, Kentish-Rogers split her time between Anguilla and Birmingham.