Sir James Cameron Tudor,

KCMG KCMG may refer to * KC Motorgroup, based in Hong Kong, China * Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, British honour * KCMG-LP, radio station in New Mexico, USA * KCMG, callsign 1997-2001 of Los Angeles radio station KKLQ (FM) ...

(18 October 1919 – 9 July 1995) was a Barbadian politician and diplomat, who was a founding member of the country's Democratic Labour Party in 1955. He served on the first Provisional General Council and as the first General Secretary. He served as the first Deputy Prime Minister of Barbados (and previously the only deputy premier of colonial-era Barbados), education minister, high commissioner to Britain, and

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

ambassador, and was elected to both houses of the national legislature. He also worked as a broadcaster, lecturer and journalist. Tudor was made a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

in the

1970 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1970 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the '' Lo ...

, and was promoted to a Knight Commander of the Order in the 1987 list.

Background

Born in St. Michael, Barbados in 1919, Tudor was educated at Harrison College, Barbados, and at

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to th ...

, where in 1942 he became the first Black person elected president of the

Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest ...

.Pamela Roberts
''Black Oxford: The Untold Stories of Oxford University's Black Scholars''
Oxford: Signal Books, 2013. After receiving a master's degree in history and politics in 1944, he returned to Barbados and taught at

Combermere School Combermere School is a school in Barbados, notable as one of the oldest schools in the Caribbean, established in 1695. Its alumni include several leading cricketers, David Thompson, sixth prime minister of Barbados and other politicians, several ...

(1946–48) and in

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...

at Queens School (1948–51). He was elected to the Barbados House of Assembly in 1951. He was a founding member in 1955 of the Democratic Labour Party, which assumed power in 1961 and led the former British colony to independence in 1966. He served as Deputy

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

, twice served as

Foreign Minister of Barbados The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Barbados is a key Barbadian government agency responsible for regulating, maintaining, and developing Barbados's external relations and the nature of trading with foreign countries. The Ministr ...

(1971–72, 1986–1989), Education Minister (1961–67), as Barbados'

High Commissioner to the United Kingdom The following is the list of ambassadors and high commissioners to the United Kingdom, or more formally, to the Court of St James's. High commissioners represent member states of the Commonwealth of Nations and ambassadors represent other states ...

(1972–75), and High Commissioner to Canada (1990–1992), and was the

Permanent Representative to the United Nations A permanent representative to the United Nations (sometimes called a "UN ambassador")"History of Ambassadors", United States Mission to the United Nations, March 2011, webpagUSUN-a. is the head of a country's diplomatic mission to the United Nati ...

(1976–1979). He died in hospital in

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 ...

, Barbados, aged 75, following a heart attack."Sir James C. Tudor"
''Washington Post'', 12 July 1995.

References

1919 births 1995 deaths Barbadian knights Deputy Prime Ministers of Barbados Leaders of the Democratic Labour Party (Barbados) Permanent Representatives of Barbados to the United Nations High Commissioners of Barbados to the United Kingdom High Commissioners of Barbados to Canada Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George People educated at Harrison College (Barbados) Alumni of Keble College, Oxford Presidents of the Oxford Union Barbadian independence activists {{law-bio-stub