Prime Minister of Barbados
Encyclopedia
The Prime Minister of Barbados is a very influential position as head of government
Head of government
Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...

 of Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...

. According to Barbados Constitution
Constitution of Barbados
The Constitution of Barbados is the supreme law under which Barbados is governed. The Constitution provides a legal establishment of the structure and various roles of administration of the Sovereign , the Vice-Royal , the Government of Barbados, as well as legal rights and responsibilities of the...

, the Prime Minister must always be a member of Parliament
Parliament of Barbados
The Parliament of Barbados is the national legislature of Barbados. It is accorded legislative supremacy by Chapter V of the Constitution of Barbados. The Parliament is bicameral in composition and is formally made up of: HM Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Barbados The Parliament of Barbados is the...

, and is appointed by the Governor-General who is responsible for conducting parliamentary elections
Elections in Barbados
Elections in Barbados is the process of conducting general elections and formulating election results in Barbados. An election is a process in which a vote is held to democratically elect national candidates to an office. In the case of Barbados, it is the mechanism by which the electors choose...

, and for proclaiming the winner.

The office of Prime Minister was established when Barbados gained political independence
Barbados Independence Act 1966
The Barbados Independence Act 1966 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that granted independence to Barbados with effect from 30 November 1966...

 in 1966, although the post is sometimes considered to be a continuation of the earlier office of Premier, which was created in 1953. If the Prime Minister dies, as has happened on three occasions, the Governor-General will appoint a replacement from parliament to serve the remainder of the five-year term of Parliament. The prime minister can lose his office by resigning, being defeated in a no confidence vote by Parliament, or losing his seat in a parliamentary election. There have been 3 premiers and 8 post-independence Prime Ministers. The current living former Prime Ministers of Barbados are: The Rt. Hon. Lloyd Erskine Sandiford
Lloyd Erskine Sandiford
Sir Lloyd Erskine Sandiford, KA is a Barbadian politician. He served as the fourth Prime Minister of Barbados from 1987 to 1994....

 and The Rt. Hon. Owen Arthur
Owen Arthur
Owen Seymour Arthur, MP was the fifth Prime Minister of Barbados who was in office from 1994 to 2008 and is the current Leader of Opposition in Barbados. To date, he is the longest serving Barbadian Prime Minister....

.

Responsibilities

The Prime Minister advises the crown, appoints ministers, controls a majority in the House of Assembly
Barbados House of Assembly
The House of Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Barbados. It has 30 Members of Parliament , MPs are directly elected in single member constituencies using the simple-majority system for a term of five years....

, and appoints 12 senators
Senate of Barbados
The Senate is the name given to the Upper House of the bicameral legislature the Parliament of Barbados. The Senate is accorded legitimacy by Chapter V of the Constitution of Barbados. It is the smaller of both chambers and also includes HM Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Barbados...

. Although the Prime Minister is appointed by the Governor-General of Barbados, they are almost always the leader of the majority party.

Premiers of Barbados (1953-1966)

Incumbent Portrait Tenure Political Affiliation
Took Office Left Office
Grantley Herbert Adams
Grantley Herbert Adams
Sir Grantley Herbert Adams, CMG, QC was a Barbadian and British West Indian politician.Grantley Herbert Adams was born at Colliston, Government Hill, St. Michael on April 28, 1898. He was the third child of seven born to Fitzherbert Adams and the former Rosa Frances Turney. Grantley was educated...

1 February 1953 17 April 1958 Barbados Labour Party
Barbados Labour Party
The Barbados Labour Party is the main opposition party of Barbados. Led by Rt. Hon.Owen Arthur, the BLP holds 9 out of 30 seats in the House of Assembly as of January 2008...

Hugh Gordon Cummins
Hugh Gordon Cummins
Hugh Gordon Cummins was a Barbadian politician. He served as Premier of Barbados from 17 April 1958 to 8 December 1961 and was a member of the Barbados Labour Party ....

17 April 1958 8 December 1961 Barbados Labour Party
Barbados Labour Party
The Barbados Labour Party is the main opposition party of Barbados. Led by Rt. Hon.Owen Arthur, the BLP holds 9 out of 30 seats in the House of Assembly as of January 2008...

Errol Barrow
Errol Barrow
Errol Walton Barrow, PC, QC was a Caribbean statesman and the first Prime Minister of Barbados. Born into a family of political and civic activists in the parish of Saint Lucy and educated at Harrison College, his sister Dame Nita Barrow also became a social activist, humanitarian leader and later...

8 December 1961 18 November 1966 Democratic Labour Party
Democratic Labour Party (Barbados)
The Democratic Labour Party is a political party in Barbados, and currently the ruling party of the country. It is led by Freundel Stuart.-History:...


Prime Ministers of Barbados (since 1966)

Incumbent Portrait Tenure Political Affiliation
Took Office Left Office
Errol Barrow
Errol Barrow
Errol Walton Barrow, PC, QC was a Caribbean statesman and the first Prime Minister of Barbados. Born into a family of political and civic activists in the parish of Saint Lucy and educated at Harrison College, his sister Dame Nita Barrow also became a social activist, humanitarian leader and later...

18 November 1966 8 September 1976 Democratic Labour Party
Democratic Labour Party (Barbados)
The Democratic Labour Party is a political party in Barbados, and currently the ruling party of the country. It is led by Freundel Stuart.-History:...

John "Tom" Adams* 8 September 1976 11 March 1985 Barbados Labour Party
Barbados Labour Party
The Barbados Labour Party is the main opposition party of Barbados. Led by Rt. Hon.Owen Arthur, the BLP holds 9 out of 30 seats in the House of Assembly as of January 2008...

Bernard St. John
Harold Bernard St. John
The Rt. Hon. Sir Harold Bernard St. John, KA was a Barbadian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of Barbados from 1985 to 1986. He was leader of the Barbados Labour Party from 1970 to 1971 and again from 1985 to 1987. He was widely known as "Bree".St. John was born in the Parish...

11 March 1985 29 May 1986 Barbados Labour Party
Barbados Labour Party
The Barbados Labour Party is the main opposition party of Barbados. Led by Rt. Hon.Owen Arthur, the BLP holds 9 out of 30 seats in the House of Assembly as of January 2008...

Errol Barrow
Errol Barrow
Errol Walton Barrow, PC, QC was a Caribbean statesman and the first Prime Minister of Barbados. Born into a family of political and civic activists in the parish of Saint Lucy and educated at Harrison College, his sister Dame Nita Barrow also became a social activist, humanitarian leader and later...

*
29 May 1986 1 June 1987 Democratic Labour Party
Democratic Labour Party (Barbados)
The Democratic Labour Party is a political party in Barbados, and currently the ruling party of the country. It is led by Freundel Stuart.-History:...

Erskine Sandiford
Lloyd Erskine Sandiford
Sir Lloyd Erskine Sandiford, KA is a Barbadian politician. He served as the fourth Prime Minister of Barbados from 1987 to 1994....

1 June 1987 7 September 1994 Democratic Labour Party
Democratic Labour Party (Barbados)
The Democratic Labour Party is a political party in Barbados, and currently the ruling party of the country. It is led by Freundel Stuart.-History:...

Owen Arthur
Owen Arthur
Owen Seymour Arthur, MP was the fifth Prime Minister of Barbados who was in office from 1994 to 2008 and is the current Leader of Opposition in Barbados. To date, he is the longest serving Barbadian Prime Minister....

7 September 1994 16 January 2008 Barbados Labour Party
Barbados Labour Party
The Barbados Labour Party is the main opposition party of Barbados. Led by Rt. Hon.Owen Arthur, the BLP holds 9 out of 30 seats in the House of Assembly as of January 2008...

David Thompson
David Thompson (Barbadian politician)
David John Howard Thompson, QC, MP was the sixth Prime Minister of Barbados from January 2008 until his death from pancreatic cancer on 23 October 2010....

*
16 January 2008 23 October 2010 Democratic Labour Party
Democratic Labour Party (Barbados)
The Democratic Labour Party is a political party in Barbados, and currently the ruling party of the country. It is led by Freundel Stuart.-History:...

Freundel Stuart
Freundel Stuart
Freundel Jerome Stuart QC MP is the seventh Prime Minister of Barbados. He succeeded David Thompson, who died on 23 October 2010 of pancreatic cancer. He is a member of the Democratic Labour Party .-Personal life and career:...

23 October 2010 Incumbent Democratic Labour Party
Democratic Labour Party (Barbados)
The Democratic Labour Party is a political party in Barbados, and currently the ruling party of the country. It is led by Freundel Stuart.-History:...



*Note - Died in office

Official oath of office

I, _________________________, being appointed Prime Minister, do swear that I will to the best of my judgment, at all times when so required, freely give my counsel and advice to the Governor-General (or any other person for the time being lawfully performing the functions of that office) for the good management of the public affairs of Barbados, and I do further swear that I will not on any account, at any time whatsoever, disclose the counsel, advice, opinion or vote of any particular Minister or Parliamentary Secretary and that I will not, except with the authority of the Cabinet and to such extent as may be required for the good management of the affairs of Barbados, directly or indirectly reveal the business or proceedings of the Cabinet or the nature or contents of any documents communicated to me as Prime Minister or any matter coming to my knowledge in my capacity as such, and that in all things I will be a true and faithful Prime Minister. So help me God.

Her Majesty's Privy Council

Prior to the Parliament replacing HM Privy Council with the Caribbean Court of Justice
Caribbean Court of Justice
The Caribbean Court of Justice is the judicial institution of the Caribbean Community . Established in 2001, it is based in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago....

 in 2005, it was common for Barbadian Prime Ministers to be nominated to Her Majesty's Privy Council
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...

 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. That body being a historic body which has legislative, judicial and executive functions, and whose large membership includes prominent British persons and persons from other Commonwealth Nations
Commonwealth Realm
A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state within the Commonwealth of Nations that has Elizabeth II as its monarch and head of state. The sixteen current realms have a combined land area of 18.8 million km² , and a population of 134 million, of which all, except about two million, live in the six...

 which continue to recognise the Queen as Head of State.

Barbadian Prime Ministers added to the British privy council (by year):
  • Errol Barrow, 1969;
  • Tom Adams, 1977;
  • Lloyd Erskine Sandiford, 1989;
  • Owen Arthur, 1995.

See also

  • Ilaro Court
    Ilaro court
    Ilaro Court is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Barbados. Ilaro Court was designed and built in the early 1920s by Lady Gilbert Carter, an accomplished American artist whose husband Sir Gilbert Thomas Carter was Governor of Barbados from 1904 to 1911. The name Ilaro was derived from...

  • Elections in Barbados
    Elections in Barbados
    Elections in Barbados is the process of conducting general elections and formulating election results in Barbados. An election is a process in which a vote is held to democratically elect national candidates to an office. In the case of Barbados, it is the mechanism by which the electors choose...

  • Politics of Barbados
    Politics of Barbados
    The politics of Barbados function within a framework of constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary government with strong democratic traditions; constitutional safeguards for nationals of Barbados include: freedom of speech, press, worship, movement, and association.Executive power is vested in...

  • Prime Minister of the West Indies Federation
    Prime Minister of the West Indies Federation
    This is a list of the Prime Ministers of the West Indies Federation , consisting of Antigua , Barbados, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks & Caicos Islands...

  • List of Governors-General of Barbados
  • List of Privy Counsellors (1952–present) (United Kingdom)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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