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. Its leaders have included Grantley Adams and Owen Arthur.
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.
Sir Grantley Herbert Adams,CMG,QC was a Barbadian politician. He served as the inaugural premier of Barbados from 1953 to 1958 and then became the first and only prime minister of the West Indies Federation from 1958 to 1962. He was a founder of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP),and he was named in 1998 as one of the National Heroes of Barbados.
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.
General elections were held in Barbados on 15 January 2008. A concurrent referendum to determine whether or not to become a republic was initially planned but vote was postponed.
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.
Federal elections were held in the West Indies Federation for the first and only time on 25 March 1958. The result was a victory for the West Indies Federal Labour Party,which won 25 of the 45 seats in the House of Representatives.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Leader of the Opposition of Barbados is the Member of Parliament who leads the Official Opposition in the Barbados Parliament. The Leader of the Opposition is the leader of the largest political party in the House of Assembly of Barbados that is not in government.
Sir Henry de Boulay Forde is a Barbadian retired politician and lawyer who served as the Leader of the Opposition from 1986 to 1989 and from 1991 to 1993. He also served as leader of the Barbados Labour Party from 1986 to 1993 and as the Attorney-General of Barbados from 1976 to 1981.
Sir Richard Christopher Haynes,also known as Richie Haynes,was a Barbadian politician and surgeon who served as the Leader of the Opposition from 1989 to 1991 after he left the ruling Democratic Labour Party and formed the National Democratic Party. He also served as Minister of Finance from 1986 to 1987. He was married to Jamaican-Barbadian senator Carol Lady Haynes.
