Jon Michael Geoffrey Manningham Adams (September 24, 1931 – March 11, 1985), known as Tom Adams, was a Barbadian

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who served as the second

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 1976 until 1985.

Biography

Personal life

The only son of Sir

Grantley Adams Sir Grantley Herbert Adams, CMG, QC (28 April 1898 – 28 November 1971) was a Barbadian politician. He served as the inaugural premier of Barbados from 1953 to 1958 and then became the first and only prime minister of the West Indies Federa ...

(a lawyer and the only Premier of the West Indies Federation) and Grace Adams ( Thorne), Tom Adams was educated at Harrison College, from which he won a

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). ...

Scholarship to

Magdalen College Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

of the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

Prime Minister

He served as the second Prime Minister of

between 1976 and 1985. His party, the Barbados Labour Party (BLP), had capitalized on the population's desire for a change from

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 ve ...

's Democratic Labour Party, which had governed the island since independence in 1966. Adams moved the country back towards the liberalism the BLP had been founded on, a trend in keeping with the popularity of liberal economist

Friedrich Hayek Friedrich August von Hayek ( , ; 8 May 189923 March 1992), often referred to by his initials F. A. Hayek, was an Austrian–British economist, legal theorist and philosopher who is best known for his defense of classical liberalism. Haye ...

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

's Britain and

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in the early 1980s. In 1983, Adams was the leading proponent in the grouping of Eastern Caribbean states that asked Reagan to intervene when a leadership struggle within the Leninist ruling party on Grenada ended in bloodshed. On Oct. 12, a military-backed, insurgent faction led by

Bernard Coard Winston Bernard Coard (born 10 August 1945) is a Grenadian politician who was Deputy Prime Minister in the People's Revolutionary Government of the New Jewel Movement. Coard launched a coup within the revolutionary government and took power f ...

, Grenada's deputy prime minister, ousted Prime Minister

Maurice Bishop Maurice Rupert Bishop (29 May 1944 – 19 October 1983) was a Grenadian revolutionary and the leader of New Jewel Movement – a Marxist–Leninist party which sought to prioritise socio-economic development, education, and black liberation ...

and put him under house arrest. When Bishop's followers sought to restore him to power a week later, he and seven of his most loyal followers were executed by a Grenadian military firing squad. Adams was convinced that further disorder on Grenada was inevitable and posed a threat to the entire region. He brokered support for an intervention in secret diplomatic dealings with the Reagan administration and like-minded leaders in the English-speaking Caribbean. Barbados was used as a staging point for some of the U.S. forces, and a nominal contingent of the

Barbados Defence Force The Barbados Defence Force (BDF) is the name given to the combined armed forces of Barbados. The BDF was established 15 August 1979, and has responsibility for the territorial defence and internal security of the island. The headquarters for the ...

accompanied in the invasion force's wake, not least to allow (as Barrow claimed) Reagan to gild the statistics. The Barbadian population was of two minds about Adams' move, generally conceding that Bishop's murder had moved

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

too far, but being uneasy with Reagan's US heavy-handedness. Nevertheless, Adams' BLP was tipped to win the upcoming elections at the time. 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", " ...

. Adams died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

at Ilaro Court, the Prime Minister's official residence, on March 11, 1985. He was the first sitting Prime Minister of Barbados to die in office. He was buried in Bridgetown, Barbados, at the churchyard of the

Cathedral Church of Saint Michael and All Angels The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael and All Angels (formerly St. Michael's Parish Church), is an Anglican church located on St. Michael's Row, two blocks east of National Heroes Square; at the centre of Bridgetown, Barbados. The Cathedral is the ...

on Saint Michael's Row. Queen

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 ...

was among global leaders who sent condolence as was addressed to Sir Hugh Springer, the then Governor-General of Barbados, which read:

″I was very shocked to hear of the sudden death of the prime minister, and Prince Philip and I send our deepest sympathy to the government and people of Barbados. The distinguished service given by Tom Adams to Barbados and to the Commonwealth (of Britain and its former colonies) during nine years as prime minister will always be remembered.″Barbados Prime Minister Dies Of Heart Attack
By Tony Cozier, March 12, 1985, The Associated Press of the U.S.A.

Adams'

deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president ...

, Bernard St. John, succeeded him but the Barbadian electorate turned back to the other political party, voting in

, and his Democratic Labour Party in the subsequent election in 1986. Barrow also died in office in 1987 shortly after his election victory. Many international leaders throughout the Commonwealth Caribbean and members of the resident diplomatic corp presented condolenc

Legacy

The ten-story building 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 ...

which houses the Central Bank of Barbados is today known as the Tom Adams Financial Centre in his honour. He is also one of the namesakes of the island's

ABC Highway The ABC Highway is the main urban highway in Barbados. Opened in 1989, it is named after three famous Barbadian politicians: John Michael Geoffrey Manningham ("Tom") Adams, Errol Barrow, and Hugh Gordon Cummins. From the east, the highway st ...

Biography

Personal life

Prime Minister

Legacy

See also

References

Further reading