Rosemary Barkett
| Rosemary Barkett | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | |
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In office April 15, 1994 – September 30, 2013 |
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| Appointed by | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | Paul Roney |
| Succeeded by | Robin Rosenbaum |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
August 29, 1939 Victoria, Mexico |
| Alma mater |
Saint Joseph College, Florida Spring Hill College University of Florida |
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 recognized as the first woman, Arab American, and Hispanic judge on the Florida Supreme Court.
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 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.
At 17, Barkett joined the Sisters of St. Joseph, becoming a nun. For nearly 10 years, from 1957 to 1967, she was known as Sister St. Michael. During much of that time, from 1960 to 1968, she also taught elementary school and junior high school classes in Tampa, Jacksonville, and St. Augustine, Florida.
In 1967 Barkett left the convent because she believed there were other ways for her to serve humanity. She received her B.S. from Spring Hill College, summa cum laude, in 1967, and her J.D. from the University of Florida College of Law in 1970, where she graduated near the top of her class. Barkett worked as a lawyer in private practice from 1971 until 1979 in West Palm Beach, Florida.
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