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 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 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 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 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.
The Cabinet are individuals of Barbados which execute the duties of the Government of Barbados. Under a Parliamentary republic, these powers are vested nominally by the President of Barbados, but are exercised in practice by a Cabinet of Ministers, presided over by the Prime Minister of Barbados. The Prime Minister is formally appointed by the President: the President must appoint, as Prime Minister, someone who can control a majority of votes in the House of Assembly. In practice, this is normally the leader of the largest political party or coalition in the house. When there is no clear majority, the president assumers the role of arbitrator and opens negotiations with the leaders of the various political parties, in the hope of finding someone whom a majority will accept as Prime Minister. In the event of that failing to take place, the President must dissolve the House of Assembly and call an early election.
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.
Sir Maurice Athelstan King, KA, QC was a Barbadian lawyer.
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.
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.
Crystal Kathy Melissa Haynes is a Barbadian politician who has been a member of the Senate of Barbados since January 2018 and January 2022 respectively. She is a member of the First senate of Barbados constituted after Barbados became a republic by Prime Minister Mia Mottley. She is a member of the Barbados Labour Party.
