David Thompson (Barbadian politician)
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David John Howard Thompson (25 December 1961
/ref> – 23 October 2010) was the sixth
prime minister of Barbados The prime minister of Barbados is the head of government of Barbados. The prime minister is appointed by the president under the terms of the Constitution. As the nominal holder of executive authority, the president holds responsibility for co ...
from 15 January 2008 until his death from pancreatic cancer on 23 October 2010.


Early life

Thompson was born in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
"Thompson: 'much at stake for Barbados'"
BBC Caribbean, 16 January 2008.
to Charles Thompson, an Afro-Barbadian porter and painter, and Margaret Knight, a White Barbadian author, secretary and nurse. Both parents remained strong influences in Thompson's life. Thompson was brought up with his three siblings at Fitts Village, Saint James. Thompson attended
primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...
at St Gabriel's Junior School and secondary school 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 ...
. He earned a
Legal Education Certificate In the Commonwealth Caribbean, a Legal Education Certificate is a professional certification awarded to a person who has completed a course of study and training at a law school established by the Council of Legal Education. It was created by Articl ...
from
Hugh Wooding Law School The Hugh Wooding Law School (HWLS) is a law school in Trinidad and Tobago. History Named for Trinidad and Tobago jurist and politician Hugh Wooding, HWLS is one of three law schools empowered by the (Caribbean) Council of Legal Education to award ...
. Thompson graduated with honors from the
University of the West Indies at Cave Hill University of the West Indies at Cave Hill is a public research university in Cave Hill, Barbados. It is one of five general campuses in the University of the West Indies system. It was the third campus to be established by the UWI System, follow ...
law school in 1984. He was admitted to the Barbados
bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...
in 1984 and taught as a part-time tutor in law at the University of the West Indies from 1986 to 1988. His law firm was Thompson & Associates. Thompson was married to Mara Thompson ( née Giraudy), who was born in Saint Luciabr>
ref name=TriniExpr/> The couple had three daughters - Misha, Oya and Osa-Marie. The family resided in Saint Philip, Barbados, Mapps, St. Philip, though Thompson resided at the official Prime Minister's residence Ilaro Court from 2008 until 2010.


Politics

Thompson first entered the
Democratic Labour Party (Barbados) The Democratic Labour Party (DLP), colloquially known as the "Dems", is a political party in Barbados, established in 1955. It was the ruling party from 15 January 2008 to 24 May 2018 but faced an electoral wipeout in the 2018 general election ...
in 1978 and served in 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 re ...
until 1987. A by-election after the death of the Prime Minister
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 ...
, gaining his parliamentary seat for Saint John in 1987. During Erskine Sandiford's term as Prime Minister, Thompson served as Minister of Community Development and Culture from 1991 to 1993. He was subsequently appointed
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", " ...
from 1993 to 1994. Thompson was elected and became leader of the DLP when Sandiford resigned after losing a parliamentary no confidence motion. Thompson was unopposed in that Leadership Election. Thompson unsuccessfully led the Democratic Labour Party in elections in 1994 and 1999. Shortly after the
1994 Barbadian general election Early general elections were held in Barbados on 6 September 1994. Dieter Nohlen (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'', p90 The result was a victory for the opposition Barbados Labour Party, which won 19 of the 28 seats ...
, Thompson made his shadow cabinet including him as Shadow Minister for Finance, Economic Affairs and Investment He resigned as party leader in September 2000 following his third electoral defeat as party leader in the St. Thomas by-election. A leadership election was held to determine the future of the
Democratic Labour Party (Barbados) The Democratic Labour Party (DLP), colloquially known as the "Dems", is a political party in Barbados, established in 1955. It was the ruling party from 15 January 2008 to 24 May 2018 but faced an electoral wipeout in the 2018 general election ...
, where
Clyde Mascoll David John Howard The Hon. Clyde Mascoll (born 15 December 1959) is a politician from Barbados. He is a former leader of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP). In 2003, Mascoll unsuccessfully led the party in an election against the ruling Barbados ...
defeated
Freundel Stuart Freundel Jerome Stuart, OR, PC, SC (born 27 April 1951) is a Barbadian politician who served as seventh Prime Minister of Barbados and the leader of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) from 23 October 2010 to 21 February 2013; and from 21 Febr ...
. However, when party leader
Clyde Mascoll David John Howard The Hon. Clyde Mascoll (born 15 December 1959) is a politician from Barbados. He is a former leader of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP). In 2003, Mascoll unsuccessfully led the party in an election against the ruling Barbados ...
was forced to resign (as party leader) since his popularity had been eroded by internal party skirmishes it cleared the way for Thompson to once again became opposition leader but he became Chairman of the
Democratic Labour Party (Barbados) The Democratic Labour Party (DLP), colloquially known as the "Dems", is a political party in Barbados, established in 1955. It was the ruling party from 15 January 2008 to 24 May 2018 but faced an electoral wipeout in the 2018 general election ...
instead of President in January 2006.
Clyde Mascoll David John Howard The Hon. Clyde Mascoll (born 15 December 1959) is a politician from Barbados. He is a former leader of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP). In 2003, Mascoll unsuccessfully led the party in an election against the ruling Barbados ...
after seemingly being mistreated by the party he was born into and grew up in then decided to switch allegiance to the Barbados Labour Party, The DLP won the general election held on 15 January 2008 with 20 seats against 10 for 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 ...
, which was led by former Prime Minister
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 ...
. Thompson was sworn in as Prime Minister on 16 January, becoming Barbados' sixth prime minister and the third to serve under the DLP. Thompson was also re-elected to his own seat from St. John constituency with 84% of the vote. He announced his Cabinet on 19 January, including himself as Minister of Finance, Economic Affairs and Development, Labour, Civil Service and Energy; it was sworn in on 20 January. He never resided at the Prime Minister's Official Residence at Ilaro Court, and stated that he never wanted to move there, and so lived at Mapps,
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) ...
during his tenure as Prime Minister. The Governor-General scheduled a by-election for 20 January 2011 to fill the vacant seat in the
House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible gove ...
formerly held by Thompson. Thompson's wife Mara was the DLP-candidate in the by-election for her late husband's former seat. She won the seat by an overwhelming margin, defeating BLP opponent Hudson Griffith 4 613 votes to 553.


Health issues and death

At a media briefing at his official Ilaro Court residence on 14 May 2010, Thompson, accompanied by his personal physician, Richard Ishmael, said that he had been suffering with stomach pains since early March. He also revealed he had undergone tests in Barbados, which were inconclusive, and had also travelled with Ishmael to New York where additional tests were carried out. The process of testing would be ongoing and, because of this, Attorney General and Deputy Prime Minister Freundel Stuart would assume the Prime Minister's office in Thompson's absenc

On 30 August, Thompson re-assumed his post of Prime Minister, having returned to Barbados the day before. On 7 September, he left Barbados for New York on a trip of unknown nature. A short time later Thompson's personal physician, Richard Ishmael, informed the general public that the Prime Minister was suffering from pancreatic cancer. However, when the news came of the fact that it was pancreatic cancer, many realised that such a diagnoses would have been known in the very early stages of the tests (even the local ones) and that it was kept secret more so for political reasons than for personal reasons. Prior to Thompson's death a prepared letter was read-out on behalf of Thompson outlining his desires for political party and country. Hours later, Thompson died at his home in Mapps, St. Philip, at approximately 2:10 am on 23 October 2010. His mother, wife Mara and daughters Misha, Oya and Osa-Marie were by his side, as well as his sister, Liz. Thompson was the third sitting Prime Minister of Barbados to die in office following the deaths of Tom Adams (politician), Tom Adams in 1985 and
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 ...
in 1987. He was also the 7th
head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, ...
of a CARICOM country to die in office since CARICOM was founded in 1973.


State funeral and mourning

As news of Thompson's death spread, regional and international dignitaries expressed their condolences. to the Thompson family and the nation.
Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...
was among those offering condolences for the Prime Minister and stated that he "invokes God's blessings upon the late Prime Minister's family and the people of Barbados." Barbadian pop star Rihanna, who was appointed by Thompson as an 'Honorary Ambassador of Culture' of Barbados, also expressed her sadness at the passing of the Prime Minister. Condolences have also been extended to Barbados by the
United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...
, and the then Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moonbr>
As well as former Prime Minister Lloyd Erskine Sandiford, and U.S. President Obam

Barbados entered an official period of
mourning Mourning is the expression of an experience that is the consequence of an event in life involving loss, causing grief, occurring as a result of someone's death, specifically someone who was loved although loss from death is not exclusively ...
for the former Prime Minister on 23 October. On that date, the government-owned
national broadcaster Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...
began airing tributes of the Prime Minister. Such tributes included some of Thompson's speeches and debates, as well as some local and international statements of condolence to his family, extended family, and the nation. The mourning period was also stated to be in effect for Barbados until the official state funeral. On Monday 25 October Senator Maxine McClean announced in a televised broadcast the full arrangements for the funeral of PM Thompson; Senator McClean stated that on 28 October 2010 (from 9am–11am) Thompson would first have a closed viewing in the east-wing of the
Parliament of Barbados The Parliament of Barbados is the national legislature of Barbados. It is accorded legislative supremacy by Chapter V of the Constitution of Barbados.Constitution, Chapter V, Part 1; Section 35 The Parliament is bicameral in composition and is ...
br>
That viewing will be upstairs in the chamber of the
House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible gove ...
and would follow Barbados' Table of precedence for Barbados, Table of Precedence for members of
Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...
from 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 ...
down to MPs. On that same date members of the general public could later view Thompson at the House of Assembly from 11am-5pm. On 29 October, from 2pm-5pm a public viewing would take place at Thompson's alma mater, The
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 ...
. On 30 October, a viewing for the general public took place at the George Street Auditorium from 9am-5pm. On Monday, 1 November from 10am-5pm a general public viewing took place in Thompson's home constituency of Saint John at the Parish Church. On 2 November, Thompson will again have a general public viewing at the House of Assembly from 9am-5pm. The official state funeral for the Prime Minister took place on 3 November at the
Kensington Oval The Kensington Oval is a stadium located to the west of the capital city Bridgetown on the island of Barbados. It is the pre-eminent sporting facility on the island and is primarily used for cricket. it has hosted many important and exciting ...
stadium and was strictly a ticket only event. Over ten thousand persons, including foreign dignitaries and diplomatic representatives, attended the state funera

Thousands more lined the streets of Bridgetown that morning to pay their respects as the official funeral procession made its way through the city en route to the Ova

https://web.archive.org/web/20101106021156/http://www.nationnews.com/index.php/articles/view/official-route-of-state-funeral] Both the state funeral at the Kensington Oval and the interment at the St. John's Parish Church, Barbados, St. John's (Anglican) Parish Church were broadcast live by CBC TV

Mr. Thompson's final resting place is in the church's cemetery and overlooks the east coast of the islan


Legacy

* The David Thompson Health & Social Services Complex (DTHSSC), (also known as the St. John Polyclinic), Glebe Land, Parish of St. John. * The Annual David Thompson Memorial Constituency Councils Football Classic


Notes


References

* * * *


External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20100521194900/http://www.nationnews.com/story/PM-NOT-WELL-FRONT-PAGE-LEAD
Government profileThe Democratic Labour Party


* *https://web.archive.org/web/20101027090635/http://www.nationnews.com/index.php/articles/view/pm-thompson-and-wife-and-children
David Thompson
Getty Images {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, David 1961 births 2010 deaths Prime Ministers of Barbados Finance ministers of Barbados Democratic Labour Party (Barbados) politicians Barbadian people of English descent Leaders of the Democratic Labour Party (Barbados) Members of the House of Assembly of Barbados University of the West Indies alumni People from Saint James, Barbados Deaths from pancreatic cancer Deaths from cancer in Barbados People educated at Combermere School Barbadian Queen's Counsel British emigrants to Barbados