Owen Arthur
Encyclopedia : O : OW : OWE : Owen Arthur
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| Rank: | 5th Prime Minister of Barbados |
| Term of Office: 3rd |
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| Predecessor: | Erskine Sandiford |
| Date of Birth: | October 17, 1949 |
| Place of Birth: | Barbados |
| Former Spouse: | Beverley Jeanne Batchelor |
| Profession: | economist |
| Political Party: | BLP |
Owen Seymour Arthur, PC., MP., BA., MSc. (born 17 October 1949) is the current Prime Minister of Barbados.
He is leader of the Barbados Labour Party, which brought him to victory in general elections in September 1994. He won general elections again in January 1999 and 2003. Owen Arthur is currently the member of parliament for the constituency of Saint Peter.
Owen Arthur was educated at the University of the West Indies (Barbados and Jamaica campuses), where he earned a BA in economics and history (1971) and an MSc in economics (1974). After graduating he held positions with Jamaica's National Planning Agency and the Jamaica Bauxite Institute. In 1981 he joined the Ministry of Finance and Planning of Barbados.
He was appointed to the Senate in 1983 and elected to the House of Assembly in 1984. He was chosen to serve as Leader of the Opposition in 1993.
One of the main platforms of Prime Minister Owen Arthur for the 2003 elections was his promise to continue the process of Independence for Barbados and transform the country into a Parliamentary Republic, replacing Queen Elizabeth II with a Barbadian President as Head of State. Owen Arthur stated a national referendum would be given in 2005 with a question to poll the public which would read something like: "Do you believe Barbados should have Barbadian as its head of state?" This referendum has been pushed back until 2006 in order to speed up the implementation process for the Caribbean (CARICOM) Single Market and Economy.
Owen Arthur is the holder of the Order of José Martí of Cuba.
See also
External links
About
- [The Prime Minister of Barbados] - official website
- [Various Speeches made by Owen Arthur] - BLP website
- [Some speeches made by Owen Arthur] - The Barbados Government Information Service website
- [Profile of Owen Arthur] - Barbados government portal
Press coverage
- [Barbados set to replace Queen with president as head of state] - RoyalArchive.com, 31 January, 2005
- [Barbados breakaway over 'King Harry'] - Telegraph UK, 26 January, 2005
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