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Barbados is an island country in the southeastern Caribbean Sea, situated about 100 miles (160 km) east of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Roughly triangular in shape, the island measures some 21 miles (34 km) from northwest to southeast and about 14 miles (23 km) from east to west at its widest point. The capital and largest town is Bridgetown, which is also the main seaport.
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 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. It has been in power in 1954–1961, 1976–1986, 1994–2008, and 2018–present. The BLP has been the governing party of Barbados since 2018.
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.
Errol Walton Barrow 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 veteran, lawyer, politician, gourmet cook and author. He is often referred to as the "Father of Independence" in Barbados.
Sir Lloyd Erskine Sandiford, KA, PC was a Barbadian politician. He served as the fourth prime minister of Barbados from 1987 to 1994, and later served as Barbados' first resident ambassador in Beijing, China, from 2010 to 2013.
The Parliament of Barbados is the national legislature of Barbados. It is accorded legislative supremacy by Chapter V of the Constitution of Barbados. The Parliament is bicameral in composition and is formally made up of two houses, an appointed Senate and an elected House of Assembly, as well as the President of Barbados who is indirectly elected by both. Both houses sit in separate chambers in the Parliament Buildings, in the national capital Bridgetown in Saint Michael.
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.
Dr. Hugh Gordon Hylvestra Cummins was a Barbadian politician. He served as Premier of Barbados from 17 April 1958 to 8 December 1961 and was a member of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP).
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.
This article deals with the diplomatic affairs, foreign policy and international relations of Barbados.
Diplomatic relations between Canada and Barbados date back to 1907, when the Government of Canada opened a Trade Commissioner Service to the Caribbean region located in Bridgetown, Barbados. Following Barbadian independence from the United Kingdom in November 1966, the Canadian High Commission was established in Bridgetown, Barbados on 27 September 1973. There is a High Commission of Barbados in Ottawa and a Barbadian Consulate in Toronto. The relationship between both nations today partly falls under the larger gambit of Canada–Caribbean relations. As of 2014 it is estimated that as much as 8% of Canadian foreign investments in Barbados.
Foreign relations between Barbados and Japan were formally established on 29 August 1967. Japan is accredited to Barbados from its embassy in Bridgetown (Barbados) and an honorary consulate in the parish of Saint George. Barbados is represented in Japan through a non-resident ambassador in Bridgetown. Japan's new Ambassador for Barbados, Mitsuhiko Okada had announced a new direct embassy to Barbados would be established located in Bridgetown in February 2016.
Barbados–India relations are the international relations that exist between Barbados and India. The Embassy of India in Paramaribo, Suriname is concurrently accredited to Barbados. India also maintains an Honorary Consulate in Holetown.
Dame Janet Gwennett Bostwick is a Bahamian lawyer and politician. She entered politics in 1977 with an appointment to the Senate. She was the first woman to serve as acting Prime Minister, first woman Attorney-General and the first woman Member of Parliament in the Bahamas.
General elections were held in Barbados on 24 May 2018. The result was a landslide victory for the opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP), which won all 30 seats in the House of Assembly, resulting in BLP leader Mia Mottley becoming the country's first female Prime Minister. The BLP's victory was the first time a party had won every seat in the House of Assembly. Previously, the most one-sided result for a Barbadian election had been in 1999, when the BLP won 26 of the 28 seats. The BLP's 73.5 percent vote share was also the highest on record.
The nations of Barbados and the Mexico established diplomatic relations in 1972. Both nations are members of the Association of Caribbean States, Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, Organization of American States and the United Nations.
Sir Louis Randall Tull KA SC MP is a Barbados criminal attorney-at-Law and former BLP Member of Parliament.
Kerrie Symmonds is a Barbadian lawyer, politician and the cabinet minister in the government of Mia Mottley. He has served as the minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade since 2022, and was previously minister of energy and business development.
References
- Zuniga, Nicholas, ed. (4 May 2017) [2015]. "Interview with Billie Miller". School of Advanced Study. U.K.: University of London. Institute of Commonwealth Studies. London. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- Onslow, Sue, ed. (12 January 2015). "Interview with Billie Miller: Commonwealth Oral History Project". School of Advanced Studies. University of London. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- "Dame Billie Antoinette Miller, lawyer and career politician Part I" on YouTube
- "Dame Billie Antoinette Miller, lawyer and career politician Part II" on YouTube
