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'Owen Seymour Arthur', 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 - Cave Hill, Barbados and Mona, Jamaica 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 before returning to Barbados and joining the Ministry of Finance and Planning in 1981.
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.
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 a Barbadian as its head of state?" This referendum has been pushed back in order to speed up the implementation process for the Caribbean (CARICOM) Single Market and Economy. With elections expected to be called in 2007, his promise of a republic is almost certain to be impossible. The focus of his current term (i.e. 2003 - 2008) is considered to have been redirected to the hosting of Cricket World Cup 2007.
It was widely believed that Mr. Owen Arthur would have retired from politics after the last elections of 2003 paving the way for the emergence of Miss Mia Mottley. He has since expressed his desire to stay on.
Owen Arthur is the holder of the Order of José Marti of Cuba.

Contents

See also

External links

About

Press coverage

See also

★ Prime Ministers of Barbados

★ Politics of Barbados

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