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Barbados

Island country in the Caribbean, one of the Lesser Antilles. It is about 483 km/300 mi north of Venezuela.

Government

The bicameral legislature dates from 1627, when the British settled. The constitution dates from 1966 and provides for a system of parliamentary government on the British model, with a prime minister and cabinet drawn from and responsible to the legislature, which consists of a Senate and a House of Assembly. The Senate has 21 members appointed by the governor general, 12 on the advice of the prime minister, two on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and the rest on the basis of wider consultations. The House of Assembly has 28 members elected by universal suffrage. The legislature has a maximum life of five years and may be dissolved within this period. The governor general appoints both the prime minister (on the basis of support in the House of Assembly) and the leader of the opposition.

History

Originally inhabited by Arawak Indians, who were wiped out soon after the arrival of the first Europeans, Barbados became a British colony in 1627 and remained so until independence in 1966. Universal adult suffrage was introduced in 1951, and the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) won the first general election. Ministerial government was established in 1954, and BLP leader Grantley Adams became the first prime minister.

A group broke away from the BLP in 1955 and formed the Democratic Labour Party (DLP). Six years later full internal self-government was achieved, and in the 1961 general election the DLP was victorious under its leader Errol Barrow.

Independence

When Barbados attained full independence in 1966, Barrow became its first prime minister. The DLP was re-elected 1971, but in the 1976 general election the BLP - led now by Grantley Adams's son Tom - ended Barrow's 15-year rule.

Foreign relations

Both parties were committed to maintaining free enterprise and alignment with the USA, although the DLP government established diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1972 and the BLP administration supported the US invasion of Grenada in 1983.

End of two-party system

The BLP was re-elected in 1981. After Adams's sudden death in 1985 he was succeeded by his deputy, Bernard St John, a former BLP leader. In the 1986 general election the DLP, led by Barrow, was returned to power with a large majority. Errol Barrow died in 1987 and was succeeded by Erskine Lloyd Sandiford. A new opposition party, the centrist National Democratic Party, was formed in 1989. The DLP was re-elected in 1991, but in the 1994 general election the fortunes of the BLP were restored and its new leader, Owen Arthur, became prime minister. In January 1999 the BLP gained a landslide victory in the general elections, securing 26 of the 28 House of Assembly seats.

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