Sir Harold Bernard St. John, KA (16 August 1931 – 29 February 2004) was a Barbadian politician who served as the third

prime minister of Barbados The prime minister of Barbados is the head of government of Barbados. The prime minister is appointed by the President of Barbados, president under the terms of the Constitution of Barbados, Constitution. As the nominal holder of executive aut ...

from 1985 to 1986. To date, he is the shortest serving Barbadian prime minister. He was leader of the

Barbados Labour Party The Barbados Labour Party (BLP), colloquially known as the "Bees", is a social democratic political party in Barbados established in 1938. Led by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, it is the governing party of Barbados and the sole ruling party i ...

from 1970 to 1971 and again from 1985 to 1987. He was widely known as Bree.

Biography

St. John was born in the Parish of Christ Church and attended the

Christ Church Foundation School Christ Church Foundation School is a school in Christ Church, Barbados, founded in 1809. The school is situated on an elevation near the southern tip of the island overlooking the sea. It is a co-educational sixth form government secondary school. ...

. He was professionally trained as a lawyer at the

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. In 1959, before the island became independent from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, St. John joined the Barbados Labour Party, and after independence in 1966, he was elected to the

Barbados House of Assembly The House of Assembly of Barbados is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Barbados. It has 30 Members of Parliament (MPs), who are directly elected in single member Constituency, constituencies using the simple-majority (or first-past- ...

. He served as a member of the Upper Chamber between 1971 and 1976 as a member of the Opposition party. St. John left the Upper House when he was re-elected to the House of Assembly in 1976, when his party under J. M. G. Adams won the

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

. He served in numerous cabinet positions in the 1970s including deputy prime minister, minister of trade and industry, and minister of tourism, where he did his most influential work in developing the tourism industry in Barbados. When Adams died in 1985, St. John became Prime Minister. During his tenure as prime minister, he held the additional portfolio of

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

. The following year he was defeated in the

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

Errol Barrow Errol Walton Barrow (21 January 1920 – 1 June 1987) was a Barbadian statesman and the first prime minister of Barbados. Born into a family of political and civic activists in the parish of Saint Lucy, he became a WWII aviator, combat vete ...

and the Democratic Labour Party. In 1994 when the BLP regained power, he did not return to the Cabinet and served instead as a backbencher under

Owen Arthur Owen Seymour Arthur, PC (17 October 194927 July 2020) was a Barbadian politician who served as the fifth prime minister of Barbados from 6 September 1994 to 15 January 2008. He is the longest-serving Barbadian prime minister to date. He also ...

. That same year St. John was conferred the highest honour in Barbados; he was made a Knight of St. Andrew (KA) of the

Order of Barbados The Order of Barbados is a national Order of honours and decorations for Barbados. History The first Order of Barbados was instituted by Queen Elizabeth II by letters patent dated 25 July 1980. With Barbados becoming a republic on 30 November ...

. In 2004, Bernard St. John died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

Bridgetown Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the capital and largest city of Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Island ...

, aged 72. He left his widow Lady Stella (née Hope) and three children: Bryte, Charmaine and Nicole.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint John, Bernard 1931 births 2004 deaths Alumni of University College London Finance ministers of Barbados Members of the Senate of Barbados Leaders of the Barbados Labour Party Prime Ministers of Barbados Deputy Prime Ministers of Barbados People educated at Harrison College (Barbados) Deaths from cancer in Barbados People from Christ Church, Barbados Members of the House of Assembly of Barbados Knights and Dames of St Andrew (Barbados)

Biography

See also

References

External links