3 GeoFroggy

Barbados

Continent:

Geography

People &
Society

Government

Economy

Energy

Communications

Military &
Security

Transportation

Terrorism

Transnational Issues
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Country Name

Conventional long form: none

Conventional short form: Barbados

Administrative Divisions

11 parishes and 1 city*; Bridgetown*, Christ Church, Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Lucy, Saint Michael, Saint Peter, Saint Philip, Saint Thomas

Independence

30 November 1966 (from the UK)

National Holiday

Independence Day, 30 November (1966)

Constitution

Adopted 22 November 1966, effective 30 November 1966; amended several times, last in 2003 (2011)

Legal System

English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts

International Law Organization Participation

Accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive Branch

Chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Elliot BELGRAVE (since 1 June 2012)

Head of government: Prime Minister Freundel STUART (since 23 October 2010)

Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister

Elections: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister

Legislative Branch

Bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (21 seats; members appointed by the governor general - 12 on the advice of the Prime Minister, 2 on the advice of the opposition leader, and 7 at his discretion) and the House of Assembly (30 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: House of Assembly - last held on 21 February 2013 (next to be called in 2018) election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - DLP 51.3%, BLP 48.3%, other 0.4%; seats by party - DLP 16, BLP 14

Judicial Branch

Highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of the High Court with 8 justices) and the Court of Appeal (consists of the chief Justice and president of the court and 4 justices

Note - Barbados, a member of the Caribbean Court of Justice, replaced the Judicial Committee of the : undefined

Judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the governor-general on the recommendation of the prime minister and opposition leader of Parliament; other justices appointed by the governor-general on the recommendation of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission, a 5-member independent body consisting of the Supreme Court chief justice, the commission head, and governor-general appointees recommended by the prime minister; justices serve until mandatory retirement at age 65

Subordinate courts: Magistrates' Courts

Political Parties and Leaders

Barbados Labor Party or BLP [Owen ARTHUR]Democratic Labor Party or DLP [Freundel STUART] People's Empowerment Party or PEP [David COMISSIONG]

Political Pressure Groups and Leaders

Barbados Secondary Teachers' Union or BSTU [Mary REDMAN]Barbados Union of Teachers or BUT [Karen BEST] Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados or CTUSAB, (includes the BWU, NUPW, BUT, and BSTU) [Leroy TROTMAN] Barbados Workers Union or BWU [Linda BROOKS] Clement Payne Labor Union [David COMISSIONG] National Union of Public Workers [Walter MALONEY]

Flag Description

Three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold, and blue with the head of a black trident centered on the gold band; the band colors represent the blue of the sea and sky and the gold of the beaches; the trident head represents independence and a break with the past (the colonial coat of arms contained a complete trident)

National Symbols

Neptune's trident

National Anthem

Lyrics:

Year

Government Type

  • Parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm

Capital

  • Name
    Bridgetown
  • Geographic Coordinates
    13 06 N, 59 37 W
  • Time Difference
    UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Diplomatic Representation in the US

  • Chief Of Mission
    Ambassador John E. BEALE (since 29 January 2009)
  • Chancery
    2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  • Telephone
    [1] (202) 939-9200
  • FAX
    [1] (202) 332-7467
  • Consulate(s) General
    Miami, New York
  • Consulate(s)
    Los Angeles

Diplomatic Representation from the US

  • Chief Of Mission
    Ambassador Larry L. PALMER (since 9 May 2012); note - also accredited to Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  • Embassy
    U.S. Embassy, Wildey Business Park, Wildey, St. Michael BB 14006
  • Mailing Address
    P. O. Box 302, Bridgetown BB 11000; (Department Name) Unit 3120, DPO AA 34055
  • Telephone
    [1] (246) 227-4000
  • FAX
    [1] (246) 431-0179

International Organization Participation

  • ACP
  • AOSIS
  • C
  • Caricom
  • CDB
  • CELAC
  • FAO
  • G-77
  • IADB
  • IBRD
  • ICAO
  • ICRM
  • IDA
  • IFAD
  • IFC
  • IFRCS
  • ILO
  • IMF
  • IMO
  • Interpol
  • IOC
  • ISO
  • ITSO
  • ITU
  • ITUC (NGOs)
  • LAES
  • MIGA
  • NAM
  • OAS
  • OPANAL
  • OPCW
  • UN
  • UNCTAD
  • UNESCO
  • UNIDO
  • UPU
  • WCO
  • WFTU (NGOs)
  • WHO
  • WIPO
  • WMO
  • WTO
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