Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett was born on September 16, 1973 in the Amerindian village of Santa Rosa, Region One, Guyana.  Her early education began at the Santa Rosa Primary School after which she moved to Georgetown where she attended a private school.   Minister Rodrigues-Birkett thereafter left for Saskatachewan, Canada, on scholarship, to pursue studies in Business Administration.  Following her return to Guyana in 1993, she read successfully for a degree in Social Work at the University of Guyana, while simultaneously managing the Amerindian Projects Programme of the Social Impact Amelioration Programme (SIMAP), a post she held for seven years before being appointed Minister of Amerindian Affairs in 2001.  Minister Rodrigues-Birkett was the first Minister to be re-appointed to her position by His Excellency President Bharrat Jagdeo in September 2006 following national elections.   On April 10, 2008, she was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, thereby having the distinction of being the first female to be appointed to this post.  Minister Rodrigues-Birkett is married and has two children.