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 432 km2 (167 sq mi) and has a population of about 287,000. Its capital and largest city is Bridgetown.
The Government of Barbados (GoB), is a unitary parliamentary republic, where the President of Barbados represents as the head of state and the Prime Minister of Barbados represents as the head of government.
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 conducting parliamentary elections and for proclaiming one of the candidates as prime minister.
The coat of arms of Barbados was adopted on 14 February 1966, by a royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II. The coat of arms of Barbados was presented by the Queen to the then President of the Senate of Barbados, Sir Grey Massiah. Like other former British possessions in the Caribbean, the coat of arms has a helmet with a national symbol on top, and a shield beneath that is supported by two animals.
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 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 replace a prior body known as the Legislative Council. Besides creating and reviewing Barbadian legislation, the Senate generally reviews approved legislation originating from the House of Assembly. One main constraint on the Senate is that it cannot author monetary or budget-related bills. Most of the non-political appointees to the Senate have been selected by the Governor-General from civil society organisations, labour collectives and public associations in Barbados.
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.
The monarchy of Barbados was a system of government in which a hereditary monarch was the sovereign and head of state of Barbados from 1966 to 2021. Barbados shared the sovereign with the other Commonwealth realms, with the country's monarchy being separate and legally distinct. The monarch's operational and ceremonial duties were mostly delegated to her representative, the governor-general of Barbados.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and introduction to Barbados:
The following is the Barbadian Table of Precedence.
- The President of Barbados
- The Prime Minister
- The Chief Justice
- The Members of the Cabinet
- The Attorney-General of Barbados, as the first minister to be sworn-in after the Prime Minister.
- Other cabinet ministers, their own order unknown.
- The former Governors-General
- The National Heroes
- The President of the Senate
- The Speaker of the House of Assembly
- The Leader of the Opposition
- The former Prime Ministers, and the former Chief Justices
- The Members of the President's Privy Council of Barbados
- The Chairman of the Barbados Christian Council
- The Ambassadors and High Commissioners
- The Justices of the Court of Appeals, and the Judges of the High Court
- The Parliamentary Secretaries
- The Deputy President of the Senate
- The Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly
- The Members of the Senate
- The Members of the House of Assembly
- The spouses of deceased dignitaries such as: Governors-General, Prime Ministers, and National Heroes
- The Chairmen of the Commissions established under the Constitution
- The Head of the Civil Service
- The Ombudsman, Director of Public Prosecutions, and Auditor General
- The Director of Finance and Economic Affairs, the Solicitor General, the Chief Parliamentary Counsel, the Permanent Secretaries, and the Governor of the Central Bank
- The Ambassadors/High Commission (Overseas)
- The Chief of Staff for the Barbados Defence Force, and the Commissioner of Police
- The Chancellor, University of the West Indies;
- The Chairman;
- The Cave Hill Campus Council, University of the West Indies;
- The Principal, Cave Hill Campus; and the Pro Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies.
- The former Ministers
- The Members of The Order of the Caribbean Community, and the holders of knighthoods conferred under the monarchy of Barbados.
- The holders of the Companion of Honour of Barbados
- The holders of the Companions of the Order of St. Michael and St. George
- The Heads of the regional bodies with diplomatic status.
- The Related grades, and the Clerk of Parliament
- The Chargé d'affaires and Acting High Commissioners, Deputy High Commissioners, Counsellors in Embassies, High Commissions and Legations, Consul-General - Chefs de Poste
- The Consuls - Chefs de Posts
- The Members of the Commissions established under the Constitution
- The Chairmen of Statutory Boards
- The Heads of Government Departments, including the Chief Technical Officers of departments integrated in Ministries, The Chief Magistrate, and the Chief Executive Officers of Statutory Boards
- Honorary Consuls, Vice-Consuls in Embassies, and High Commissions and Legations
The Constitution of Barbados is the supreme law under which Barbados is governed. The Constitution provides a legal establishment of the Government of Barbados, as well as legal rights and responsibilities of the public and various other government officers. The Constitution which came into force in 1966 was amended in 1974, 1978, 1990, 1992, 1995, 2002, 2003, and 2021. The 1966 document succeeds several other documents concerning administration of Barbados. One of them, the Barbados Charter, is discussed in the present Constitution's Preamble. Prior statutes were created for the administration of Barbados as a colony. As a former English and later British colony, the Constitution is similar to those of other former Commonwealth realms, yet distinctly different in the spirit of the Statute of Westminster.
Kerryann F. Ifill is a Barbadian politician. She served as President of the Senate of Barbados from 2012 to 2018.
Events in the year 2021 in 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 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.
The 2021 Barbadian presidential election was held on 20 October 2021 to choose the first president of Barbados, an office established as part of Barbados becoming a republic. Sandra Mason, the incumbent governor-general of Barbados, was elected president, and she replaced Queen Elizabeth II as head of state of Barbados when she was sworn in on 30 November 2021.
Reginald Farley is a Barbadian politician and accountant who has served has President of the Senate of Barbados since 2020. He is the first Senate President of the Senate of Barbados.
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