This is a list of the heads of state of Barbados, from the independence 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). ...

under the

Barbados Independence Act 1966 The Barbados Independence Act 1966 (c. 37) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that granted List of countries that have gained independence from the United Kingdom, independence to Barbados with effect from 30 November 1966. The Ac ...

to the present day. From 30 November 1966 until 30 November 2021, the head of state was the

Queen of Barbados 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 ...

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

, who was also the

Monarch of the United Kingdom The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional monarchy, constitutional form of government by which a hereditary monarchy, hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United ...

and the other

Commonwealth realm A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state in the Commonwealth of Nations whose monarch and head of state is shared among the other realms. Each realm functions as an independent state, equal with the other realms and nations of the Commonwealt ...

s, represented in Barbados by a

Governor-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 ...

. Since 30 November 2021, the head of state is the

President of Barbados The president of Barbados is the head of state of Barbados and the commander-in-chief of the Barbados Defence Force. The office was established when the country became a parliamentary republic on 30 November 2021. Before, the head of state was ...

Monarch (1966–2021)

The succession to the Barbadian throne was the same as the

succession to the British throne Succession to the British throne is determined by descent, gender, legitimacy and religion. Under common law, the Crown is inherited by a sovereign's children or by a childless sovereign's nearest collateral line. The Bill of Rights 1689 an ...

. {, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" !rowspan=2, !rowspan=2, Monarch
!rowspan=2, Portrait !colspan=3, Reign !rowspan=2, Royal House !rowspan=2,

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 ...

, - !Reign start !Reign end !Duration , - ! 1 , Queen

, 1966 , {{nowrap, 30 November 2021 , {{age in years, 1966, 11, 30, 2021, 11, 30 years ,

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

, Barrow
Adams
St. John
Sandiford

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...

Thompson Thompson may refer to: People * Thompson (surname) * Thompson M. Scoon (1888–1953), New York politician Places Australia *Thompson Beach, South Australia, a locality Bulgaria * Thompson, Bulgaria, a village in Sofia Province Canada * ...

Stuart
Mottley

Governor-General

Under the

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 governm ...

, before its amendment in 2021, the

governor-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 ...

was the representative of the monarch in Barbados and exercised most of the powers of the monarch. The governor-general was appointed for an indefinite term, serving at the pleasure of the monarch. Since Barbados was granted independence by the

, rather than being first established as a semi-autonomous

Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...

and later promoted to independence by the

Statute of Westminster 1931 The Statute of Westminster 1931 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that sets the basis for the relationship between the Commonwealth realms and the Crown. Passed on 11 December 1931, the statute increased the sovereignty of the ...

, the governor-general had always been appointed solely on the advice of the

Cabinet of Barbados The Cabinet are individuals of Barbados which execute the duties of the Government of Barbados. Under a Parliamentary republic , these powers are vested nominally by the President of Barbados, but are exercised in practice by a Cabinet of Minis ...

, without the involvement of the British government, with the sole exception of John Montague Stow, the last colonial governor, who served as governor-general temporarily until he was replaced by Sir Arleigh Winston Scott. In the event of a vacancy the chief justice served as

administrator of the government An administrator (administrator of the government or officer administering the government) in the constitutional practice of some countries in the Commonwealth is a person who fulfils a role similar to that of a governor or a governor-general ...

. ;Status {{legend, #E6E6AA, Denotes Chief Justice acting as Officer Administering the Government {, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" !rowspan=2, {{Abbr, No., Number !rowspan=2, Portrait !rowspan=2, Governor-General
{{small, (Birth–Death) !colspan=3, Term of office !rowspan=2, Monarch !rowspan=2,

, - !Took office !Left office !Time in office , - ! 1 , No image

, Sir John Montague Stow
{{small, (1911–1997) , {{nowrap, 30 November 1966 , {{nowrap, 18 May 1967 , {{ayd, 1966, 11, 30, 1967, 5, 18 , rowspan="14" ,

, rowspan="2" , Barrow , - ! 2 , No image

, Sir Arleigh Winston Scott
{{small, (1900–1976) , {{nowrap, 18 May 1967 , {{nowrap, 9 August 1976
{{small, (''died in office.'') , {{ayd, 1967, 5, 18, 1976, 8, 9 , -style="background:#e6e6aa;" , – , No image

, Sir William Randolph Douglas
{{small, (1921–2003) , {{nowrap, 9 August 1976 , {{nowrap, 17 November 1976 , {{ayd, 1976, 8, 9, 1976, 11, 17 , Barrow
Adams , - ! 3 , No image

, Sir Deighton Lisle Ward
{{small, (1909–1984) , {{nowrap, 17 November 1976 , {{nowrap, 9 January 1984
{{small, (''died in office.'') , {{ayd, 1976, 11, 17, 1984, 1, 9 , rowspan="2" , Adams , -style="background:#e6e6aa;" , – , No image

, Sir William Randolph Douglas
{{small, (1921–2003) , {{nowrap, 9 January 1984 , {{nowrap, 24 February 1984 , {{ayd, 1984, 1, 9, 1984, 2, 24 , - ! 4 , No image

, Sir Hugh Springer
{{small, (1913–1994) , {{nowrap, 24 February 1984 , {{nowrap, 6 June 1990 , {{ayd, 1984, 2, 24, 1990, 6, 6 , Adams
St. John
Barrow
Sandiford , - ! 5 , No image

, Dame Nita Barrow
{{small, (1916–1995) , {{nowrap, 6 June 1990 , {{nowrap, 19 November 1995
{{small, (''died in office.'') , {{ayd, 1990, 6, 6, 1995, 11, 19 , Sandiford

, -style="background:#e6e6aa;" , – , No image

, Sir Denys Williams
{{small, (1929–2014) , {{nowrap, 19 December 1995 , {{nowrap, 1 June 1996 , {{ayd, 1995, 12, 19, 1996, 6, 1 ,

, - ! 6 ,

, Sir Clifford Husbands
{{small, (1926–2017) , {{nowrap, 1 June 1996 , {{nowrap, 31 October 2011 , {{ayd, 1996, 6, 1, 2011, 10, 31 ,

Stuart , -style="background:#e6e6aa;" , – , Elliott Belgrave 2016

Elliott Belgrave Sir Elliott Fitzroy Belgrave, GCMG, KA, CHB, KStJ, SC (born 16 March 1931) is a retired Barbadian High Court Judge who served as the seventh governor-general of Barbados from 1 June 2012 to 30 June 2017. He previously served as Acting Governor ...

{{small, (born 1931) , {{nowrap, 31 October 2011 , {{nowrap, 30 May 2012 , {{ayd, 2011, 10, 31, 2012, 5, 30 , rowspan="2" , Stuart , -style="background:#e6e6aa;" , – , Sandra Mason at Remembrance Day Parade and Service 20191110

Sandra Mason at Remembrance Day Parade and Service 20191110

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 20 ...

{{small, (born 1949) , {{nowrap, 30 May 2012 , {{nowrap, 1 June 2012 , {{ayd, 2012, 5, 30, 2012, 6, 1 , - ! 7 , Elliott Belgrave 2016

, Sir Elliott Belgrave
{{small, (born 1931) , {{nowrap, 1 June 2012 , {{nowrap, 30 June 2017 , {{ayd, 2012, 6, 1, 2017, 6, 30 , rowspan="2" , Stuart , -style="background:#e6e6aa;" , – Former Deputy Prime Minister , No image

, Sir Philip Greaves
{{small, (born 1931) , {{nowrap, 1 July 2017 , {{nowrap, 8 January 2018 , {{ayd, 2017, 7, 1, 2018, 1, 8 , - ! 8 , Sandra Mason at Remembrance Day Parade and Service 20191110

, Dame Sandra Mason
{{small, (born 1949) , {{nowrap, 8 January 2018 , {{nowrap, 30 November 2021 , {{ayd, 2018, 1, 8, 2021, 11, 30 , Stuart
Mottley

President (2021–present)

Under the

, as amended in 2021, the position of president of Barbados replaced the monarch as head of state. The position of president is elected by

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

for a four-year term. In the event of a vacancy, or for any reason the president is unable to perform the functions conferred upon them by the constitution, those functions are performed by an acting president appointed by the prime minister, after consultation with the leader of the opposition. However, while the president is suspended from office in case of ongoing

impeachment Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

proceedings, the president of the

Senate of Barbados The Senate of Barbados is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Barbados. The Senate is accorded legitimacy by Chapter V of the Constitution of Barbados. It is the smaller of the two chambers. The Senate was established in 1964 to repl ...

serves as acting president. The presidential line of succession is not defined beyond that. {{legend, #E6E6AA, Denotes Acting President {, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" !rowspan=2, {{Abbr, No., Number !rowspan=2, Portrait !rowspan=2, President
{{small, (Birth–Death) !rowspan=2, Elected !colspan=3, Term of office !rowspan=2,

, - !Took office !Left office !Time in office , - ! 1 , Sandra Mason at Remembrance Day Parade and Service 20191110

{{small, (born 1949) ,

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, {{nowrap, 30 November 2021 , {{nowrap, ''Incumbent'' , {{ayd, 2021, 11, 30 , Mottley

Standards

File:Royal Standard of Barbados.svg, Royal Standard File:Flag of the Governor-General of Barbados.svg, Governor-General's Standard File:Flag of the President of Barbados.svg, Presidential Standard

Timeline

{{#tag:timeline, ImageSize = width:600 height:auto barincrement:25 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:130 left:20 AlignBars = late Colors = id:monarch value:purple legend: Monarch id:pres value: blue legend: President id:gray1 value:gray(0.85) id:gray2 value:gray(0.95) DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1966 till:{{#time:d/m/Y 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 TextData = pos:(20,27) textcolor:black fontsize:M text:"Heads of State:" BarData= bar:Elizabeth(II) bar:Mason PlotData= width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till bar:Elizabeth(II) from: 30/11/1966 till: 30/11/2021 color:monarch text:"

" fontsize:10 bar: Mason from: 30/11/2021 till: {{#time:d/m/Y color:pres text:"

" fontsize:10

References

World Statesmen – Barbados

{{Heads of State of Barbados {{Governors-General of Barbados, state=collapsed Government of Barbados Monarchy of Barbados H B

Heads of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 "he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and le ...