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The prime minister of Barbados is the
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, a gro ...
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). ...
. The prime minister is appointed by the
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
under the terms of the
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...
. As the nominal holder of executive authority, the president holds responsibility for conducting
parliamentary elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
and for proclaiming one of the candidates as prime minister.


Background

Sir Grantley Herbert Adams was appointed Barbados' first ''Premier'' on 1 February 1953 when Barbados attained full self-government. When Barbados negotiated full political independence from Britain on 30 November 1966, the office was renamed ''Prime Minister.'' Despite the renaming, the functions of the office were not significantly changed.


Appointment and tenure

As a former
British colony The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remnants of the former Bri ...
,
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). ...
has largely adopted British political models and follows the
Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
, or
Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...
, system of government, in which the
executive branch of government The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems ba ...
is responsible to the
legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...
. The
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 ...
was historically appointed by 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 ...
until 2021, and by 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 ...
thereafter, to serve a maximum five-year term in Parliament. The president must endeavour to find a candidate acceptable to a majority in the House; if no such candidate can be found, the president must dissolve Parliament and call an election prematurely. Incumbent prime ministers who lose their
seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair (furniture), ...
in a parliamentary election may not be prime minister. If the prime minister dies, as has happened on three occasions, the president appoints a replacement from Parliament to serve the remainder of the five-year term of Parliament. The prime minister must also be supported, or at least accepted, by a majority 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 governme ...
. If at any time the prime minister loses the "confidence" of the House, he must resign, along with the entire
Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...
. In practice, this usually reduces the prime minister's appointment to a formality, as the parliamentary leader of the majority
political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
or coalition is invariably appointed. If, however, no such majority party or coalition exists, whether due to electoral fragmentation or to party realignments after an
election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
, the president's role becomes much more important. The prime minister of Barbados is technically the "first among equals," whose vote in meetings of the Cabinet carries no greater weight than that of any other minister. In practice, the prime minister dominates the government. Other ministers are appointed by the president, but on the prime minister's "advice", and may be dismissed by the prime minister at any time (although hypothetically, the prime minister's control over ministerial appointments may be tempered by the realities of coalition politics: the leader or leaders of coalition partners may insist on having a say in the matter too).


Holders

There were three premiers prior to independence and there have been eight prime ministers since independence. The living former prime ministers of Barbados are the Right Honourable
Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Sir Lloyd Erskine Sandiford, KA, PC (born 24 March 1937) is a Barbadian politician. He served as the fourth prime minister of Barbados from 1987 to 1994. Later Sir Lloyd served as Barbados' first resident ambassador in Beijing, China from 20 ...
and the Right Honourable
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 ...
. The current holder of the office is the Honourable
Mia Mottley Mia Amor Mottley, (born 1 October 1965) is a Barbadian politician and attorney who has served as the eighth prime minister of Barbados since 2018 and as Leader of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) since 2008. Mottley is the first woman to hold ...
Q.C., M.P.


Responsibilities

The prime minister advises the president, appoints ministers, controls a majority 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 governme ...
, and appoints 12 senators. Although the prime minister is appointed by the President of Barbados, they are almost always the leader of the majority party.


List of prime ministers

ImageSize = width:480 height:auto barincrement:12 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:130 left:20 AlignBars = late Colors = id:dlp value:yellow legend:DLP id:blp value:red legend:BLP id:gray1 value:gray(0.85) id:gray2 value:gray(0.95) DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1966 till:01/01/2022 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:"Political parties:" BarData= bar:Barrow bar:Adams bar:John bar:Sandiford bar:Arthur bar:Thompson bar:Stuart bar:Mottley PlotData= width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till bar:Barrow from: 30/11/1966 till: 08/09/1976 color:dlp from: 29/05/1986 till: 01/06/1987 color:dlp text:"
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 ...
" fontsize:10 bar:Adams from: 08/09/1976 till: 11/03/1985 color:blp text:" Tom Adams" fontsize:10 bar:John from: 11/03/1985 till: 29/05/1986 color:blp text:" Bernard St. John" fontsize:10 bar:Sandiford from: 01/06/1987 till: 07/09/1994 color:dlp text:" Erskine Sandiford" fontsize:10 bar:Arthur from: 07/09/1994 till: 16/01/2008 color:blp text:"
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 ...
" fontsize:10 bar:Thompson from: 16/01/2008 till: 23/10/2010 color:dlp text:" David Thompson" fontsize:10 bar:Stuart from: 23/10/2010 till: 25/05/2018 color:dlp text:"
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 ...
" fontsize:10 bar:Mottley from: 25/08/2018 till: end color:blp text:"
Mia Mottley Mia Amor Mottley, (born 1 October 1965) is a Barbadian politician and attorney who has served as the eighth prime minister of Barbados since 2018 and as Leader of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) since 2008. Mottley is the first woman to hold ...
" fontsize:10
File:Tom Adams (politician).jpg, John "Tom" Adams
(served: 1976–1985) File:Owen Arthur-2.jpg,
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 ...

(served: 1994–2008) File:David John Howard Thompson - World Economic Forum on Latin America 2010 (cropped).jpg, David Thompson
(served: 2008–2010) File:Freundel Stuart.jpg,
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 ...

(served: 2010–2018)


Official oath of office


British Privy Council

Prior to the establishment of the
Caribbean Court of Justice The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ; nl, Caribisch Hof van Justitie; french: Cour Caribéenne de Justice) is the judicial institution of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Established in 2005, it is based in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. ...
in 2005, it was common for Barbadian prime ministers to be nominated to the
British Privy Council The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...
, whose large membership includes prominent British persons and persons from other
Commonwealth nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...
that continue to share the same person as monarch. Prime ministers added to the Privy council (by year): *The
Rt Hon. ''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: ''Rt Hon.'' or variations) is an honorific style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is ...
Errol Barrow, 1969; *The Rt Hon. Tom Adams, 1977; *The Rt Hon. Lloyd Erskine Sandiford, 1989; *The Rt Hon. Owen Arthur, 1995; *The Rt Hon. Freundel Stuart, 2014.


Quasi-Cabinet of the

Caribbean Community The Caribbean Community (CARICOM or CC) is an intergovernmental organization that is a political and economic union of 15 member states (14 nation-states and one dependency) throughout the Caribbean. They have primary objectives to promote econom ...


See also

*
List of Commonwealth heads of government The Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOG) is the collective name for the government leaders of the nations with membership in the Commonwealth of Nations. They are invited to attend Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings every two years, ...
*
Politics of Barbados The politics of Barbados function within a framework of a parliamentary republic with strong democratic traditions; constitutional safeguards for nationals of Barbados include: freedom of speech, press, worship, movement, and association. Execut ...
* Ilaro Court *
Prime Minister of the West Indies Federation The prime minister of the West Indies Federation was the head of government of the short lived West Indies Federation (also known as the British Caribbean Federation), which consisted of ten provinces: Antigua (with Barbuda), Barbados, Dominica, ...
*
List of Governors-General of Barbados The governor-general of Barbados was the representative of the Barbadian monarch from independence in 1966 until the establishment of a republic in 2021. Under the government's Table of Precedence for Barbados, the governor-general of Barbado ...
*
List of Privy Counsellors (1952–present) These are lists of Privy Counsellors of England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom from the reorganisation in 1679 of His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council to the present day. Members of the Privy Council of Ireland between 1660 and 1922 a ...


References


External links


Prime Minister's Office




{{Prime Minister 1966 establishments in Barbados