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Order of National Heroes

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Order of National Heroes
Awarded by
Coat of arms of Barbados (3).svg
President of Barbados
TypeNational Honour
Established20 April 1998; 24 years ago (20 April 1998)
CriteriaAt the pleasure of the president with the recommendation of the prime minister
StatusCurrently constituted
FounderParliament of Barbados
ChancellorSandra Mason
(President of Barbados)
SecretaryVacant
ClassesMember (National Hero)
Statistics
First induction1998
Last induction2021
Total inductees11
Precedence
Next (higher)None
Next (lower)Order of Freedom of Barbados


For other uses, see Order of the National Hero (disambiguation).

The Order of National Heroes is the supreme honour within the national honours system of Barbados and was established by the Order of National Heroes Act 1998 by the Parliament of Barbados.[1] Members are referred to as National Heroes, and are accorded the style "The Right Excellent" and the post-nominal letters "NH". The Order recognises the most prominent figures in Barbados' history. As of 2023, Garfield Sobers and Rihanna are the only two living persons conferred with the title.

Heroes Square, formerly known as Trafalgar Square in Bridgetown.[2]
Heroes Square, formerly known as Trafalgar Square in Bridgetown.[2]

Discover more about Order of National Heroes related topics

Orders, decorations, and medals of Barbados

Orders, decorations, and medals of Barbados

The Barbados National Honours and Decorations system is similar to that of the United Kingdom. Likewise, it consists of three types of award – honours, decorations and medals. Appointments are made on a yearly basis on Independence Day by the president of Barbados.

Barbados

Barbados

Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of 432 km2 (167 sq mi) and has a population of about 287,000. Its capital and largest city is Bridgetown.

Parliament of Barbados

Parliament of Barbados

The Parliament of Barbados is the national legislature of Barbados. It is accorded legislative supremacy by Chapter V of the Constitution of Barbados. The Parliament is bicameral in composition and is formally made up of two houses, an appointed Senate and an elected House of Assembly, as well as the President of Barbados who is indirectly elected by both. Both houses sit in separate chambers in the Parliament Buildings, in the national capital Bridgetown in Saint Michael.

The Right Excellent

The Right Excellent

The honorific prefix "The Right Excellent" is a form of address that is used in several Commonwealth Caribbean countries.

Garfield Sobers

Garfield Sobers

Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers,, also known as Sir Gary or Sir Garry Sobers, is a former cricketer who played for the West Indies between 1954 and 1974. A highly skilled bowler, an aggressive batsman and an excellent fielder, he is widely considered to be cricket's greatest ever all-rounder and one of the greatest cricketers of all time.

Rihanna

Rihanna

Robyn Rihanna Fenty is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the United States to record demo tapes. After signing with Def Jam in 2005, she soon gained recognition with the release of her first two studio albums, Music of the Sun (2005) and A Girl Like Me (2006), both of which were influenced by Caribbean music and peaked within the top ten of the US Billboard 200 chart.

History

The first National Heroes Day was celebrated on 28 April 1998, the centenary of the birth of Sir Grantley Adams.[3] On the same day, Trafalgar Square was renamed National Heroes Square.[2]

Eleven people have been created National Heroes of Barbados to date, of which ten were nominated by Prime Minister Owen Arthur and formally appointed by the Governor General in 1998, in accordance with the Act.[2][4] Of the original ten, only Sir Garfield Sobers is alive; Sarah Ann Gill was the only woman to be created a National Hero until the singer and businesswoman Rihanna was honoured in November 2021.[5]

The Barbados National Heroes Gallery, located in the Museum of Parliament, traces the lives and contributions made by the National Heroes.

In 2021, the Government started a search for new National Heroes. Citizens were encouraged to nominate people who they thought qualified for the high honour. The government of Barbados ultimately chose singer Rihanna for this honour and duly awarded her the title of National Hero on the first day of the Barbadian republic.[6]

The president, being the legal successor to the governor-general, adopted the latter's role and duties of appointing national heroes after Barbados became a republic in 2021.

Discover more about History related topics

Prime Minister of Barbados

Prime Minister of Barbados

The prime minister of Barbados is the head of government of Barbados. The prime minister is appointed by the president under the terms of the Constitution. As the nominal holder of executive authority, the president holds responsibility for conducting parliamentary elections and for proclaiming one of the candidates as prime minister.

Owen Arthur

Owen Arthur

Owen Seymour Arthur, PC was a Barbadian politician who served as the fifth prime minister of Barbados from 6 September 1994 to 15 January 2008. He is the longest-serving Barbadian prime minister to date. He also served as Leader of the Opposition from 1 August 1993 to 6 September 1994 and from 23 October 2010 to 21 February 2013.

Governor-General of Barbados

Governor-General of Barbados

The governor-general of Barbados was the representative of the Barbadian monarch from independence in 1966 until the establishment of a republic in 2021. Under the government's Table of Precedence for Barbados, the governor-general of Barbados was regarded as being the most important of all personnel of the Barbados government.

Garfield Sobers

Garfield Sobers

Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers,, also known as Sir Gary or Sir Garry Sobers, is a former cricketer who played for the West Indies between 1954 and 1974. A highly skilled bowler, an aggressive batsman and an excellent fielder, he is widely considered to be cricket's greatest ever all-rounder and one of the greatest cricketers of all time.

Sarah Ann Gill

Sarah Ann Gill

Sarah Ann Gill was a social and religious leader in Barbados during the era of slavery. By an act of the Barbadian Parliament in 1998, she was named a National Hero of Barbados.

Rihanna

Rihanna

Robyn Rihanna Fenty is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the United States to record demo tapes. After signing with Def Jam in 2005, she soon gained recognition with the release of her first two studio albums, Music of the Sun (2005) and A Girl Like Me (2006), both of which were influenced by Caribbean music and peaked within the top ten of the US Billboard 200 chart.

Parliament Buildings (Barbados)

Parliament Buildings (Barbados)

The Parliament Buildings, is the seat of the Parliament of Barbados. Built between 1870 and 1874, the buildings have been the meeting place for both chambers of Parliament since 16 June 1874, and a former site of Colonial administration of Barbados. It consists of two buildings in the neo-Gothic architectural style, and are reminiscent of the Victorian era of Great Britain.

Government of Barbados

Government of Barbados

The Government of Barbados (GoB), is a unitary parliamentary republic, where the President of Barbados represents as the head of state and the Prime Minister of Barbados represents as the head of government.

President of Barbados

President of Barbados

The president of Barbados is the head of state of Barbados and the commander-in-chief of the Barbados Defence Force. The office was established when the country became a parliamentary republic on 30 November 2021. Before, the head of state was Elizabeth II, Queen of Barbados, who was represented on the island by a governor-general. The first and current president is Sandra Mason, who previously served as the last governor-general.

Republicanism in Barbados

Republicanism in Barbados

On 30 November 2021, Barbados transitioned from a parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the hereditary monarch of Barbados to a parliamentary republic with a ceremonial indirectly elected president as head of state. The prime minister remained head of government while the last governor-general, Dame Sandra Mason, was elected as the country's first president on 20 October 2021, and took office on 30 November 2021.

National Heroes

Discover more about National Heroes related topics

Sarah Ann Gill

Sarah Ann Gill

Sarah Ann Gill was a social and religious leader in Barbados during the era of slavery. By an act of the Barbadian Parliament in 1998, she was named a National Hero of Barbados.

Samuel Jackman Prescod

Samuel Jackman Prescod

Samuel Jackman Prescod became the first person of African descent to be elected to the Parliament of Barbados, in 1843. He also helped found the Liberal Party, whose following included small landowners, businessmen, and coloured clerks. The Parliament of Barbados has enacted that he should be styled as "The Right Excellent" and that his life be celebrated on National Heroes Day in Barbados.

Charles Duncan O'Neal

Charles Duncan O'Neal

Charles Duncan O'Neal was a Barbados physician, political figure and labor rights activist. He founded the radical Democratic League in 1924 and influenced the shift towards party-focused politics still seen in Barbados today.

Grantley Herbert Adams

Grantley Herbert Adams

Sir Grantley Herbert Adams, CMG, QC was a Barbadian politician. He served as the inaugural premier of Barbados from 1953 to 1958 and then became the first and only prime minister of the West Indies Federation from 1958 to 1962. He was a founder of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP), and he was named in 1998 as one of the National Heroes of Barbados.

Clement Payne

Clement Payne

Clement Osbourne Payne was a Trinidad-born pioneer in the Caribbean trade union movement. By an act of Parliament in 1998, Payne was named as one of the eleven National Heroes of Barbados.

Hugh Springer

Hugh Springer

Sir Hugh Worrell Springer was the organiser and first general secretary of the Barbados Workers' Union, and Barbados' fourth governor-general. He was a lawyer, politician and public servant. By an act of Parliament in 1998, Springer was named as one of the eleven National Heroes of Barbados.

Frank Leslie Walcott

Frank Leslie Walcott

Sir Frank Leslie Walcott, KA, OBE was a Barbadian trade unionist, politician, ambassador and one of the eleven National Heroes of Barbados. He played a key role in organizing the Barbados labour movement and was a major figure in stimulating participation in the nation's political process.

Errol Barrow

Errol Barrow

Errol Walton Barrow was a Barbadian statesman and the first prime minister of Barbados. Born into a family of political and civic activists in the parish of Saint Lucy, he became a WWII aviator, combat veteran, lawyer, politician, gourmet cook and author. He is often referred to as the "Father of Independence" in Barbados.

Garfield Sobers

Garfield Sobers

Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers,, also known as Sir Gary or Sir Garry Sobers, is a former cricketer who played for the West Indies between 1954 and 1974. A highly skilled bowler, an aggressive batsman and an excellent fielder, he is widely considered to be cricket's greatest ever all-rounder and one of the greatest cricketers of all time.

Order of the Caribbean Community

Order of the Caribbean Community

The Order of the Caribbean Community is an award given to"Caribbean nationals whose legacy in the economic, political, social and cultural metamorphoses of Caribbean society is phenomenal"

Source: "Order of National Heroes", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, February 13th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_National_Heroes.

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Further Reading

Bridgetown

Garfield Sobers

Vere Bird

Grantley Herbert Adams

Grantley Adams International Airport

Hugh Gordon Cummins

Index of Barbados-related articles

Samuel Jackman Prescod

Combermere School

Monarchy of Barbados
References
  1. ^ "Order of National Heroes Act 1998" (PDF). Government of Barbados. 20 April 1998. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "Parliament's History". Parliament of Barbados. Archived from the original on 23 May 2007. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  3. ^ Callaghan, Brett (8 July 2018). "Barbados National Heroes". Totally Barbados. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Readying Heroes Square for its "close up"". Barbados Today. 28 October 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  5. ^ "Barbados National Heroes". Go Barbados. Caribbean Dreams Publishing. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  6. ^ Carrington, Julie (29 March 2021). "Nominations For More National Heroes". Government Information Service. Government of Barbados. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  7. ^ "Let's Celebrate Our National Heroes". Government Information Service. Government of Barbados. 28 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.


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