Grantley Herbert Adams
Encyclopedia
Sir Grantley Herbert Adams, CMG
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....

, QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...

 (April 28, 1898 – November 28, 1971) was a Barbadian
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...

 and British West Indian
British West Indies
The British West Indies was a term used to describe the islands in and around the Caribbean that were part of the British Empire The term was sometimes used to include British Honduras and British Guiana, even though these territories are not geographically part of the Caribbean...

 politician.

Grantley Herbert Adams was born at Colliston, Government Hill, St. Michael on April 28, 1898. He was the third child of seven born to Fitzherbert Adams and the former Rosa Frances Turney. Grantley was educated at St. Giles and at Harrison College in Barbados. In 1918 he won the Barbados Scholarship and departed the following year for his undergraduate studies at Oxford University. He was married to Grace Thorne in 1929 at St. John's Church. Their only child, Tom, himself won the Barbados Scholarship, attended Oxford and became a lawyer. Tom Adams later became the second Prime Minister of Barbados.

After founding the Barbados Labour Party
Barbados Labour Party
The Barbados Labour Party is the main opposition party of Barbados. Led by Rt. Hon.Owen Arthur, the BLP holds 9 out of 30 seats in the House of Assembly as of January 2008...

 (BLP) in 1938, then known as the Barbados Progressive League, Adams was president of the Barbados Workers' Union
Barbados Workers' Union
The Barbados Workers' Union is a trade union in Barbados. It was established in October, 1941. It has 25,000 members and represents them directly, negotiating with individual companies in each sector....

 (BWU) from 1941 to 1954. While being a staunch supporter of the monarchy, Adams and his party also demanded more rights for the poor and for the people. Progress toward a more democratic government in Barbados was made in 1942, when the exclusive income qualification was lowered and women were given the right to vote. By 1949 governmental control was wrested from the planters.

Adams became the first Premier
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in some countries and states.-Examples by country:In many nations, "premier" is used interchangeably with "prime minister"...

 of Barbados in 1958, as the island proceeded towards self-governance and then became the first and only Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...

 of the West Indies Federation
West Indies Federation
The West Indies Federation, also known as the Federation of the West Indies, was a short-lived Caribbean federation that existed from January 3, 1958, to May 31, 1962. It consisted of several Caribbean colonies of the United Kingdom...

, defeating Ashford Sinanan by two votes. Sinanan went on to serve as Leader of the Opposition of Trinidad's Democratic Labour Party
Democratic Labour Party
The Democratic Labour Party is a name used by many political parties:* Democratic Labour Party * Democratic Labour Party * Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania* Democratic Labour Party...

 (DLP). From 1958 to 1962, Barbados was one of the ten members of the West Indies Federation, an organization doomed by nationalistic attitudes and by the fact that its members, as British colonies, held limited legislative power.

As Premier of Barbados, his leadership failed in attempts to form unions like the BWU, and his continued defense of the monarchy was used by his opponents as evidence that he was no longer in touch with the needs of his country. Errol Walton Barrow, a fervent reformer, became the new people's advocate. Barrow had left the BLP and formed the DLP as a liberal alternative to Adams' conservative government. Barrow instituted many progressive social programmes, such as free education for all Barbadians, and the School Meals system. By 1961, Barrow had replaced Adams as Premier and the DLP controlled the government.

The Grantley Adams International Airport
Grantley Adams International Airport
Grantley Adams International Airport , is found in Seawell, Christ Church on the island of Barbados. The former name of the airport was Seawell Airport before being dedicated in honour of the first Premier of Barbados, Sir Grantley Herbert Adams in 1976. The airport's timezone is GMT –4, and is...

 located in Christ Church, Barbados was renamed after the former Prime Minister in 1976. A statue in honour of Adams is located in front of Government Headquarters at Bay Street, St. Michael (see map).

Adams is also one of Barbados' National Heroes
Barbadian national heroes
Barbadian National Heroes are the designees of the Order of National Heroes Act, as passed by the Parliament of Barbados in 1998. The act formally recognized the stature of ten major figures in the history of Barbados....

.

He was the father of Barbados' second Prime Minister following independence, the late J.M.G. 'Tom' Adams.

See also

  • Politics of Barbados
    Politics of Barbados
    The politics of Barbados function within a framework of constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary government with strong democratic traditions; constitutional safeguards for nationals of Barbados include: freedom of speech, press, worship, movement, and association.Executive power is vested in...

  • List of Premiers/Prime Ministers of Barbados
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