Governor-General of Barbados

The governor-general of Barbados was the representative of the Barbadian monarch from independence in 1966 until the establishment of a republic in 2021. Under the government's Table of Precedence for Barbados, the governor-general of Barbados was regarded as being the most important of all personnel of the Barbados government.

The office was established by Chapter IV of the 1966 Constitution of Barbados. The governor-general was appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister of Barbados. The governor-general exercised the monarch's executive powers and gave assent to bills in the monarch's name, promulgating them as laws. The powers of the monarch and the governor-general were limited, and they, in most instances, exercised authority on the advice of the prime minister or other persons or bodies within Barbados.

The office of the governor-general was established when Barbados gained independence in 1966. Since then, Barbados had eight governors-general. On 30 November 2021, Barbados became a republic and the office of governor-general was abolished.

Duties

The Barbadian monarch, on the advice of her Barbadian prime minister, appointed a governor-general to be her representative in Barbados. Both the monarch and the governor-general held much power in the country, though it was rarely used unilaterally; it was usually only used in such a way in emergencies and in some cases war.

The governor-general represented the monarch on ceremonial occasions such as the State Opening of Parliament and the presentation of honours and military parades. Under the constitution, the governor-general was given authority to act in some matters; for example, in appointing and disciplining officers of the civil service, granting "any person convicted of any offence against the laws of Barbados a pardon", and in proroguing parliament. However, in only a few cases was the governor-general empowered to act entirely on his/her own discretion, often requiring the countersignature of the prime minister to exercise their powers.

The governor-general of Barbados also chaired the Privy Council of Barbados.

List of governors-general

Following is a list of people who served as governor-general of Barbados from independence in 1966 to the establishment of a republic in 2021.

Symbols

: Died in office.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

! rowspan="2" |

! rowspan="2" | Portrait

! rowspan="2" | Name (Birth–Death)

! colspan="3" | Term of office

! rowspan="2" | Monarch (Reign)

!Took office

!Left office

!Time in office

| 1

| 70px

| John Montague Stow (1911–1997)

| 30 November 1966

| 18 May 1967

|169 days

| rowspan="14" style="background:#eaecf0" | 70px Elizabeth II 60px (1966–2021)

| 2

| 70px

| Arleigh Winston Scott (1900–1976)

| 18 May 1967

| 9 August 1976

|9 years,

82 days

|-style="background:#e6e6aa;"

| –

| 70px

| William Randolph Douglas (1921–2003)

| 9 August 1976

| 17 November 1976

|100 days

| 3

| 70px

| Deighton Lisle Ward (1909–1984)

| 17 November 1976

| 9 January 1984

|7 years,

53 days

|-style="background:#e6e6aa;"

| –

| 70px

| William Randolph Douglas (1921–2003)

| 10 January 1984

| 24 February 1984

|45 days

| 4

| 70px

| Hugh Springer (1913–1994)

| 24 February 1984

| 6 June 1990

|6 years,

104 days

| 5

| 70px

| Nita Barrow (1916–1995)

| 6 June 1990

| 19 December 1995

|5 years,

195 days

|-style="background:#e6e6aa;"

| –

| 70px

| Denys Williams (1929–2014)

| 19 December 1995

| 1 June 1996

|165 days

| 6

| 70px

| Clifford Husbands (1926–2017)

| 1 June 1996

| 31 October 2011

|15 years,

151 days

|-style="background:#e6e6aa;"

| –

| 70px

| Elliott Belgrave (b. 1931)

| 1 November 2011

| 30 May 2012

|211 days

|-style="background:#e6e6aa;"

| –

| 70px

| Sandra Mason (b. 1949)

| 30 May 2012

| 1 June 2012

|2 days

| 7

| 70px

| Elliott Belgrave (b. 1931)

| 1 June 2012

| 30 June 2017

|5 years,

29 days

|-style="background:#e6e6aa;"

| –

| 70px

| Philip Greaves (b. 1931)

| 1 July 2017

| 8 January 2018

|191 days

| 8

| 70px

| Sandra Mason (b. 1949)

| 8 January 2018

| 30 November 2021

Timeline

ImageSize = width:600 height:auto barincrement:12

PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:130 left:20

AlignBars = late

Colors =

id:official value:gray(0.65) legend: Official

id:acting value:dullyellow legend: Acting

id:gray1 value:gray(0.85)

id:gray2 value:gray(0.95)

DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy

Period = from:01/01/1966 till:01/01/2022

TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:gray1 unit:year increment:5 start:1966

ScaleMinor = gridcolor:gray2 unit:year increment:1 start:1966

Legend = columns:1 left:205 top:35 columnwidth:75

BarData=

bar:Stow

bar:Scott

bar:Douglas(acting)

bar:Ward

bar:Douglas(acting)2

bar:Springer

bar:Barrow

bar:Williams

bar:Husbands

bar:Belgrave(acting)

bar:Mason(acting)

bar:Belgrave

bar:Greaves(acting)

bar:Mason

PlotData=

width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till

bar:Stow

from: 30/11/1966 till: 18/05/1967 color:official text:"John Stow" fontsize:10

bar:Scott

from: 18/05/1967 till: 09/08/1976 color:official text:"Winston Scott" fontsize:10

bar:Douglas(acting)

from: 09/08/1976 till: 17/11/1976 color:acting text:"William Douglas" fontsize:10

bar:Ward

from: 17/11/1976 till: 09/01/1984 color:official text:"Deighton Ward" fontsize:10

bar:Douglas(acting)2

from: 10/01/1984 till: 24/02/1984 color:acting text:"William Douglas" fontsize:10

bar:Springer

from: 24/02/1984 till: 06/06/1990 color:official text:"Hugh Springer" fontsize:10

bar:Barrow

from: 06/06/1990 till: 19/12/1995 color:official text:"Nita Barrow" fontsize:10

bar:Williams

from: 19/12/1995 till: 01/06/1996 color:acting text:"Denys Williams" fontsize:10

bar:Husbands

from: 01/06/1996 till: 31/10/2011 color:official text:"Clifford Husbands" fontsize:10

bar:Belgrave(acting)

from: 01/11/2011 till: 30/05/2012 color:acting text:"Elliot Belgrave" fontsize:10

bar:Mason(acting)

from: 30/05/2012 till: 01/06/2012 color:acting text:"Sandra Mason" fontsize:10

bar:Belgrave

from: 01/06/2012 till: 30/06/2017 color:official text:"Elliot Belgrave" fontsize:10

bar:Greaves(acting)

from: 01/07/2017 till: 08/01/2018 color:acting text:"Philip Greaves" fontsize:10

bar:Mason

from: 08/01/2018 till: 30/11/2021 color:official text:"Sandra Mason" fontsize:10

</timeline>

Official oath of office

According to the First Schedule section of the 1966 Constitution of Barbados, the official oath of office for the governor-general of Barbados was as follows:

Abolition

In September 2020, the government of Barbados announced that it planned to abolish the Barbadian monarchy and the position of the governor-general, and the Queen of Barbados to be replaced with a ceremonial president, akin to that of the president of Trinidad and Tobago. Incumbent governor-general Sandra Mason was elected president on 20 October 2021 and took office on 30 November 2021.

References

External links

About Queen Elizabeth II and her role in Barbados - Royal.uk
Governor General of Barbados, Our Nation, Government of Barbados

Duties

List of governors-general

Timeline

Official oath of office

Abolition

See also

References

External links