Sir Frank Leslie Walcott, KA, OBE (16 September 1916 – 24 February 1999) was a Barbadian

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

ist,

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 ...

, ambassador and one of the eleven

National Heroes of Barbados The Order of National Heroes is the supreme honour within the national honours system of Barbados and was established by the Order of National Heroes Act 1998 by the Parliament of Barbados. Members are referred to as National Heroes, and are ...

. He played a key role in organizing the Barbados labour movement and was a major figure in stimulating participation in the nation's political process. Frank Walcott was born in

Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupat ...

, and his policeman father died when Walcott was very young. He was raised in

Bridgetown Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the capital and largest city of Barbados. Formerly The Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the parish of Saint Michael. Bridgetown is sometimes locally referred to as "The Ci ...

, where he attended Wesley Hall Boys' Secondar
School
excelling in mathematics and debate from an early age. Becoming an active unionist in his mid-twenties, Walcott served the Barbados Workers' Union for over fifty years. He also served three separate terms as president of the Caribbean Congress of Labour, as well as serving in the Governing Body of the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

and as Vice-President of the Executive Board of the

International Confederation of Free Trade Unions The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) was an international trade union. It came into being on 7 December 1949 following a split within the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), and was dissolved on 31 October 2006 when ...

. In addition to these posts, Walcott also served with the American Institute for Free Labour Development and was Chairman of the World Employment Conference. In politics, Walcott served as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

in the

Barbados House of Assembly The House of Assembly of Barbados is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Barbados. It has 30 Members of Parliament (MPs), who are directly elected in single member constituencies using the simple-majority (or first-past-the-post) syst ...

, from 1945 to 1966 and again from 1971 to 1976. He sat first as a member of the liberal

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 ...

, but broke away from the party over its conservative beliefs to help establish the Democratic Labour Party in its movement towards independence and was a critical figure in its union and trade leanings. During the time between these terms he served as a Senator, and was President of that body from 1986 to 1991. After Barbados gained its independence in 1966, Walcott served as the nation's first Ambassador to the

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

. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1954 Queen's Birthday Honours. In 1987 Walcott was conferred the highest honour in Barbados; he was made a Knight of St. Andrew (KA) of the

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 ...

. The Sir Frank Walcott building in Saint Michael, Barbados, is named in his honour. Walcott is also noted for having been an exceptional

cricket umpire In cricket, an umpire (from the Old French ''nompere'' meaning not a peer, i.e. not a member of one of the teams, impartial) is a person who has the authority to make decisions about events on the cricket field according to the ''Laws of Cricket ...

References

Biography from Government of BarbadosBiography from the Democratic Labour Party

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walcott, Frank Leslie 1916 births 1999 deaths 20th-century Barbadian people Officers of the Order of the British Empire National Heroes of Barbados Barbadian trade union leaders Members of the Senate of Barbados Presidents of the Senate of Barbados Caribbean Congress of Labour Barbadian cricket umpires Barbadian knights Barbadian appointees to the Order of the British Empire People from Bridgetown Permanent Representatives of Barbados to the United Nations Democratic Labour Party (Barbados) politicians Members of the House of Assembly of Barbados Knights and Dames of St Andrew (Barbados) People from Saint Peter, Barbados