Governor-General Of Barbados
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The governor-general 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 Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...
was the representative of the
Barbadian monarch The monarchy of Barbados was a system of government in which a hereditary monarch was the sovereign and head of state of Barbados from 1966 to 2021. Barbados shared the Sovereign with the other Commonwealth realms, with the country's monarchy be ...
from independence in 1966 until the establishment of a republic in 2021. Under the government's
Table of Precedence for Barbados The following is the Barbadian order of precedence, Table of Precedence. #The President of Barbados (Sandra Mason, Dame Sandra Mason) #The Prime Minister of Barbados, Prime Minister (Mia Mottley) #The Supreme Court of Barbados, Chief Justice (Sir P ...
, the governor-general of Barbados was regarded as being the most important of all personnel of the Barbados government. The office was established by Chapter IV of the 1966
Constitution of Barbados The Constitution of Barbados is the supreme law under which Barbados is governed. The Constitution provides a legal establishment of the Government of Barbados, as well as legal rights and responsibilities of the public and various other govern ...
. The governor-general was appointed by the monarch on the advice of the
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 ...
. The governor-general exercised the monarch's
executive power The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems b ...
s and gave assent to bills in the monarch's name, promulgating them as laws. The powers of the monarch and the governor-general were limited, and they, in most instances, exercised authority on the advice of the prime minister or other persons or bodies within Barbados. The office of the governor-general was established when Barbados gained independence in 1966. Since then, Barbados had 8
governors-general Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
. On 30 November 2021, Barbados became a republic and the office of governor-general was abolished.


Duties

The Barbadian monarch, on the advice of her Barbadian prime minister, appointed a governor-general to be her representative in Barbados. Both the monarch and the governor-general held much power in the country, though it was rarely used unilaterally; it was usually only used in such a way in emergencies and in some cases war. The governor-general represented the monarch on ceremonial occasions such as the State Opening of Parliament and the presentation of honours and military parades. Under the constitution, the governor-general was given authority to act in some matters; for example, in appointing and disciplining officers of the civil service, granting "any person convicted of any offence against the laws of Barbados a pardon", and in proroguing parliament. However, in only a few cases was the governor-general empowered to act entirely on his/her own discretion, often requiring the
countersignature In law, countersignature refers to a second signature onto a document. For example, a contract or other official document signed by the representative of a company may be countersigned by their supervisor to verify the authority of the representat ...
of the prime minister to exercise their powers. The governor-general of Barbados also chaired the
Privy Council of Barbados The Privy Council of Barbados is a formal body of advisors to the head of state (the sovereign represented viceregally by the Governor-General of Barbados) prior to 30 November 2021 and the President of Barbados as of 30 November 2021) and is p ...
.


List of governors-general of Barbados

Following is a list of people who served as governor-general of Barbados from independence in 1966 to the establishment of a republic in 2021. Symbols : Died in office.


Timeline

ImageSize = width:600 height:auto barincrement:12 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:130 left:20 AlignBars = late Colors = id:official value:gray(0.65) legend: Official id:acting value:dullyellow legend: Acting id:gray1 value:gray(0.85) id:gray2 value:gray(0.95) DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1966 till:01/01/2022 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = gridcolor:gray1 unit:year increment:5 start:1966 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:gray2 unit:year increment:1 start:1966 Legend = columns:1 left:205 top:35 columnwidth:75 BarData= bar:Stow bar:Scott bar:Douglas(acting) bar:Ward bar:Douglas(acting)2 bar:Springer bar:Barrow bar:Williams bar:Husbands bar:Belgrave(acting) bar:Mason(acting) bar:Belgrave bar:Greaves(acting) bar:Mason PlotData= width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till bar:Stow from: 30/11/1966 till: 18/05/1967 color:official text:" John Stow" fontsize:10 bar:Scott from: 18/05/1967 till: 09/08/1976 color:official text:"
Winston Scott Winston Elliott Scott (born August 6, 1950) is a retired United States Navy Captain and former NASA astronaut. He served as a mission specialist on STS-72 in 1996 and STS-87 in 1997 logged a total of 24 days, 14 hours and 34 minutes in space, in ...
" fontsize:10 bar:Douglas(acting) from: 09/08/1976 till: 17/11/1976 color:acting text:" William Douglas" fontsize:10 bar:Ward from: 17/11/1976 till: 09/01/1984 color:official text:" Deighton Ward" fontsize:10 bar:Douglas(acting)2 from: 10/01/1984 till: 24/02/1984 color:acting text:" William Douglas" fontsize:10 bar:Springer from: 24/02/1984 till: 06/06/1990 color:official text:" Hugh Springer" fontsize:10 bar:Barrow from: 06/06/1990 till: 19/12/1995 color:official text:"
Nita Barrow Dame Ruth Nita Barrow, GCMG DA (15 November 1916 – 19 December 1995) was the first female governor-general of Barbados. Barrow was a nurse and a public health servant from Barbados. She served as the fifth governor-general of Barbados from 6 ...
" fontsize:10 bar:Williams from: 19/12/1995 till: 01/06/1996 color:acting text:" Denys Williams" fontsize:10 bar:Husbands from: 01/06/1996 till: 31/10/2011 color:official text:"
Clifford Husbands Sir Clifford Straughn Husbands GCMG KStJ KA QC (5 August 1926 – 11 October 2017) was a Barbadian judge who served as the sixth Governor-General of Barbados. He held this office from 1996, when he was appointed after the death of Nita Barrow, ...
" fontsize:10 bar:Belgrave(acting) from: 01/11/2011 till: 30/05/2012 color:acting text:" Elliot Belgrave" fontsize:10 bar:Mason(acting) from: 30/05/2012 till: 01/06/2012 color:acting text:"
Sandra Mason Dame Sandra Prunella Mason (born 17 January 1949) is a Barbadian politician, lawyer, and diplomat who is serving as the first president of Barbados since 2021. She was previously the eighth and final governor-general of Barbados from 2018 to ...
" fontsize:10 bar:Belgrave from: 01/06/2012 till: 30/06/2017 color:official text:" Elliot Belgrave" fontsize:10 bar:Greaves(acting) from: 01/07/2017 till: 08/01/2018 color:acting text:" Philip Greaves" fontsize:10 bar:Mason from: 08/01/2018 till: 30/11/2021 color:official text:"
Sandra Mason Dame Sandra Prunella Mason (born 17 January 1949) is a Barbadian politician, lawyer, and diplomat who is serving as the first president of Barbados since 2021. She was previously the eighth and final governor-general of Barbados from 2018 to ...
" fontsize:10


Official oath of office

According to the First Schedule section of the 1966
Constitution of Barbados The Constitution of Barbados is the supreme law under which Barbados is governed. The Constitution provides a legal establishment of the Government of Barbados, as well as legal rights and responsibilities of the public and various other govern ...
, the official
oath of office An oath of office is an oath or affirmation a person takes before assuming the duties of an office, usually a position in government or within a religious body, although such oaths are sometimes required of officers of other organizations. Such ...
for the governor-general of Barbados was as follows:


Abolition

In September 2020, the government of Barbados announced that it planned to abolish the Barbadian monarchy and the position of the governor-general, and the Queen of Barbados to be replaced with a ceremonial
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
, akin to that of the
president of Trinidad and Tobago The president of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is the head of state of Trinidad and Tobago and the commander-in-chief of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force. The office was established when the country became a republic in 1976, before ...
. Incumbent governor-general
Sandra Mason Dame Sandra Prunella Mason (born 17 January 1949) is a Barbadian politician, lawyer, and diplomat who is serving as the first president of Barbados since 2021. She was previously the eighth and final governor-general of Barbados from 2018 to ...
was elected president on 20 October 2021 and took office on 30 November 2021.


See also

*
Government House Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. The name is also used in some other countries. Gover ...
, the official residence of the governor-general *
Order of Barbados The Order of Barbados is a Order (distinction), 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 republ ...
*
List of governors of Barbados This article contains a list of viceroys in Barbados from its initial colonisation in 1627 by England until it achieved independence in 1966. From 1833 to 1885, Barbados was part of the colony of the Windward Islands, and the governor of Barbad ...
*
Governor-General of the West Indies Federation The governor-general of the West Indies Federation was a post in the government of the West Indies. The federation, also known as the British Caribbean Federation, consisted of Antigua (with Barbuda), Barbados, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grena ...
*
List of prime ministers of Barbados This is a list of prime ministers of Barbados. Premiers of Barbados (1953–1966) Queen Elizabeth II in right of the United Kingdom (1953–66) Prime Ministers of Barbados (1966–Present) Queen Elizabeth II in right of Barbados (1966–20 ...
* List of current vice-regal representatives of Elizabeth II


References


External links

*
About Queen Elizabeth II and her role in Barbados
- ''Royal.uk'' *
Governor General of Barbados
Our Nation, Government of Barbados {{Representatives of the monarch in Commonwealth realms and Dominions Barbados, List of Governors-General of Monarchy of Barbados
Governors-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
1966 establishments in Barbados 2021 disestablishments in Barbados Barbados and the Commonwealth of Nations