Owen Arthur

Owen Arthur
The Right Honourable
Owen Seymour Arthur
MP
Arthur at the 2005 Summit of the Americas.
Leader of the Opposition (Barbados)
Incumbent
Assumed office
18 October 2010
Prime Minister Freundel Stuart
Preceded by Mia Mottley
Constituency Saint Peter
5th Prime Minister of Barbados
In office
6 September 1994 – 16 January 2008
Monarch Elizabeth II
Governor General Nita Barrow
Clifford Husbands
Deputy Mia Mottley
Preceded by Erskine Sandiford
Succeeded by David Thompson
Personal details
Born 17 October 1949 (1949-10-17) (age 62)
Barbados
Political party BLP
Spouse(s) Julie Arthur
Residence Ilaro Court 1994 - 2008
Profession Economist

Owen Seymour Arthur, MP (born October 17, 1949) was the fifth Prime Minister of Barbados who was in office from 1994 to 2008 and is the current Leader of Opposition in Barbados. To date, he is the longest serving Barbadian Prime Minister.

He was the leader of the Barbados Labour Party, from 1994-2008 which brought him to victory in general elections in September 1994. He won general elections again in January 1999 and 2003. In the 2008 general election, his party lost the elections to the Democratic Labour Party and their leader David Thompson. Arthur is currently the member of parliament for the constituency of Saint Peter.

Contents

Early life and education

Arthur was educated firstly, at The Coleridge and Parry Boy's School and then later Harrison College, Barbados and then the University of the West Indies - Cave Hill, Barbados and Mona, Jamaica where he earned a BA degree in Economics and History (1971) and an MSc degree in Economics (1974). After graduating he held positions with Jamaica's National Planning Agency and the Jamaica Bauxite Institute before returning to Barbados and joining the Ministry of Finance and Planning in 1981.

Political career

Member of Parliament

He was appointed to the Barbados Senate in 1983 and elected to the House of Assembly in 1984. He was chosen to serve as Leader of the Opposition in 1993 very shortly after giving notice that he was considering departing from politics due to his inability to survive at a satisfactory level on the means of an MP.

Prime Minister

From 1994 to 2008, he was the leader of the Barbados Labour Party. In September 1994 the Labour Party won the general elections which made him Prime Minister. He won general elections again in January 1999 and 2003. In 1995 he was appointed a Privy Counsellor which bestowed him the title of "Right Honourable."[1]

One of the main platforms of Prime Minister Arthur for the 2003 elections was his promise to transform the country into a Parliamentary republic, replacing Queen Elizabeth II with a Barbadian President as Head of State. Arthur stated a national referendum would be held in 2005. However, this was pushed back in order to speed up the implementation process for the Caribbean (CARICOM) Single Market and Economy, and the focus of his term was directed to the hosting of Cricket World Cup 2007.

Leader of Opposition

In the general election held on 15 January 2008, the Barbados Labour Party was defeated by the Democratic Labour Party, winning ten seats against 20 for the DLP. DLP leader David Thompson was sworn in on 16 January, succeeding Arthur.[2] Despite the party's defeat, Arthur was re-elected to his own seat from St. Peter constituency with 65% of the vote.[3] He also said that he felt he could still contribute to CARICOM.[4] On January 19, he stepped down as BLP leader, saying that he felt an immediate leadership transition would be in the best interests of both the party and Barbadian democracy; former Deputy Prime Minister Mia Mottley was chosen as the new party leader. Arthur said that he intended to serve out his parliamentary term.[5]

Arthur was given a vote of confidence by 4 of his Parliamentary Colleagues to return to the Leadership of the Barbados Labour Party after they expressed dissatisfaction with the former leader Mia Mottley. Arthur was sworn in on the 18th October 2010 as Barbados' new Opposition Leader.

Honours and awards

Arthur is a recipient of the Order of José Marti of Cuba.

Owen Arthur with George W. Bush

See also

References

  1. ^ JCPC (1995) "Privy Council Members" Judicial Committee of the Privy Council http://www.privy-council.org.uk/output/Page76.asp#a. Retrieved 21 June 2010 
  2. ^ "Thompson sworn in as Barbados PM", Xinhua, January 17, 2008.
  3. ^ Election result page for St. Peter constituency.
  4. ^ "Arthur: Still a role for me", nationnews.com, January 18, 2008.
  5. ^ Trevor Yearwood, "MIA TAKES OVER", nationnews.com, January 20, 2008.

External links

Preceded by
Erskine Sandiford
Prime Minister of Barbados
1994 – 2008
Succeeded by
David Thompson

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