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.
Owen Seymour Arthur, PC 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 as Leader of the Opposition from 1 August 1993 to 6 September 1994 and from 23 October 2010 to 21 February 2013.
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 in the House of Assembly of Barbados, holding 30 out of 30 seats. The BLP was elected to government on 25 May 2018 after a decade in opposition, with Mottley becoming the country's first female prime minister. The party originally won all of the seats in the House of Assembly, but Bishop Joseph Atherley, the MP for St. Michael West, became an independent MP and the leader of the opposition on 2 June 2018. The party won all 30 seats in the 2022 general election.
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 which left it with no MPs.
Jon Michael Geoffrey Manningham Adams, known as Tom Adams, was a Barbadian politician who served as the second prime minister of Barbados from 1976 until 1985.
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 system for a term of five years. The House of Assembly sits roughly 40–45 days a year and is presided over by a Speaker.
On 30 November 2021, Barbados transitioned from a parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the hereditary monarch of Barbados to a parliamentary republic with a ceremonial indirectly elected president as head of state. The prime minister remained head of government while the last governor-general, Dame Sandra Mason, was elected as the country's first president on 20 October 2021, and took office on 30 November 2021.
David John Howard Thompson was the sixth prime minister of Barbados from 15 January 2008 until his death from pancreatic cancer on 23 October 2010.
Mia Amor Mottley, 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 either position. She is also Barbados' first prime minister under its republican system, following constitutional changes she introduced that abolished the country's constitutional monarchy.
Freundel Jerome Stuart, OR, PC, SC 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 February 2013 to 25 May 2018. He succeeded David Thompson, who had died in office on 23 October 2010 from pancreatic cancer.
Marie-Josephine Mara Thompson is a Saint Lucian-born Barbadian politician, educator and widow of the sixth Prime Minister of Barbados, David Thompson, who died in office on 23 October 2010. After being chosen as the most favored candidate. Thompson won the special by-election to succeed her husband in the Saint John constituency on Thursday, 20 January 2011, holding the seat for the Democratic Labour Party.
General elections were held in Barbados on 4 December 1961. They were the first held after Barbados was granted full self-government earlier in the year. 24 MPs were elected across twelve two-member constituencies, using the block vote method.
A by-election was held in the Barbadian constituency of St George North on November 11, 2020 following the resignation of incumbent BLP Member of Parliament Gline Clarke, who has represented the constituency for the past 26 years, to accept the post of Barbados High Commissioner to Canada. It was the first election to take place since Prime Minister Mia Mottley's governing Barbados Labour Party won all seats in the House of Assembly in the 2018 Barbadian general election.
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 Elizabeth II, Queen of Barbados, who was represented on the island by a governor-general. The first and current president is Sandra Mason, who previously served as the last governor-general.
Joseph Junior Sylvester Atherley is a Barbadian religious minister and politician who served as Leader of the Opposition in the House of Assembly of Barbados from 2018 to 2022, and as leader of the People's Party for Democracy and Development since 8 June 2019.
The People's Party for Democracy and Development (PdP), abbreviated as the People's Party, is a political party in Barbados established on 8 June 2019 and led by Joseph Atherley. At its foundation, it served as the main opposition party in both houses of the Barbadian Parliament, with one seat in the House of Assembly and two seats in the Senate from 8 June 2019 till 19 January 2022.
General elections were held in Barbados on 19 January 2022 to elect the 30 members of the House of Assembly. The ruling Barbados Labour Party won all 30 seats for the second consecutive election.
Verla A. De Peiza is a Barbadian politician and lawyer. She was the leader of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) from 12 August 2018 to 21 January 2022, and was the first woman to hold this position. She also previously served as a Senator for the DLP from 2010 to 2018.
Santia Josette Omara Bradshaw is a Barbadian politician. She is a cabinet minister in the cabinet of Mia Mottley. Bradshaw is the deputy prime minister of Barbados.
The Alliance Party for Progress (APP) is a Christian and social democratic electoral alliance in Barbados. It was formed on the 30 December 2021 by the United Progressive Party (UPP) and the People's Party for Democracy and Development (PdP) to contest the 2022 Barbadian general election. It is headed by the leader of the PdP Bishop Joseph Atherley with the leader of the UPP Lynette Eastmond becoming deputy head.
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