Get Our Extension

Tom Adams (politician)

From Wikipedia, in a visual modern way
Tom Adams
Tom Adams (politician).jpg
2nd Prime Minister of Barbados
In office
September 8, 1976 – March 11, 1985
MonarchElizabeth II
Governors-GeneralDeighton Lisle Ward
Hugh Springer
DeputyBernard St. John
Preceded byErrol Barrow
Succeeded byBernard St. John
Personal details
Born
Jon Michael Geoffrey Manningham Adams

(1931-09-24)September 24, 1931
British Windward Islands (present day Barbados)
DiedMarch 11, 1985(1985-03-11) (aged 53)
Barbados
Political partyBarbados Labour Party
SpouseGenevieve Adams
ResidenceIlaro Court 1984–1985
OccupationLawyer

Jon Michael Geoffrey Manningham Adams (September 24, 1931 – March 11, 1985), known as Tom Adams, was a Barbadian politician who served as the second prime minister of Barbados from 1976 until 1985.[1]

Biography

Personal life

The only son of Sir Grantley Adams (a lawyer and the only Premier of the West Indies Federation) and Grace Adams (née Thorne), Tom Adams was educated at Harrison College, from which he won a Barbados Scholarship to Magdalen College of the University of Oxford.

Prime Minister

He served as the second Prime Minister of Barbados between 1976 and 1985. His party, the Barbados Labour Party (BLP), had capitalized on the population's desire for a change from Errol Barrow's Democratic Labour Party, which had governed the island since independence in 1966.

Adams moved the country back towards the liberalism the BLP had been founded on, a trend in keeping with the popularity of liberal economist Friedrich Hayek in Margaret Thatcher's Britain and Ronald Reagan's United States in the early 1980s.

In 1983, Adams was the leading proponent in the grouping of Eastern Caribbean states that asked Reagan to intervene when a leadership struggle within the Leninist ruling party on Grenada ended in bloodshed.[2] On Oct. 12, a military-backed, insurgent faction led by Bernard Coard, Grenada's deputy prime minister, ousted Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and put him under house arrest. When Bishop's followers sought to restore him to power a week later, he and seven of his most loyal followers were executed by a Grenadian military firing squad. Adams was convinced that further disorder on Grenada was inevitable and posed a threat to the entire region.[2] He brokered support for an intervention in secret diplomatic dealings with the Reagan administration and like-minded leaders in the English-speaking Caribbean. Barbados was used as a staging point for some of the U.S. forces, and a nominal contingent of the Barbados Defence Force accompanied in the invasion force's wake, not least to allow (as Barrow claimed) Reagan to gild the statistics. The Barbadian population was of two minds about Adams' move, generally conceding that Bishop's murder had moved Grenada too far, but being uneasy with Reagan's US heavy-handedness. Nevertheless, Adams' BLP was tipped to win the upcoming elections at the time. During his tenure as prime minister, he held the additional portfolio of Minister of Finance.

Adams died of a heart attack at Ilaro Court, the Prime Minister's official residence, on March 11, 1985. He was the first sitting Prime Minister of Barbados to die in office.[3] He was buried in Bridgetown, Barbados, at the churchyard of the Cathedral Church of Saint Michael and All Angels on Saint Michael's Row.[4]

Queen Elizabeth II was among global leaders who sent condolence as was addressed to Sir Hugh Springer, the then Governor-General of Barbados, which read:

″I was very shocked to hear of the sudden death of the prime minister, and Prince Philip and I send our deepest sympathy to the government and people of Barbados. The distinguished service given by Tom Adams to Barbados and to the Commonwealth (of Britain and its former colonies) during nine years as prime minister will always be remembered.″[5]

Adams' deputy Prime Minister, Bernard St. John, succeeded him but the Barbadian electorate turned back to the other political party, voting in Errol Barrow, and his Democratic Labour Party in the subsequent election in 1986. Barrow also died in office in 1987 shortly after his election victory.[3]

Many international leaders throughout the Commonwealth Caribbean and members of the resident diplomatic corp presented condolence.[1]

Discover more about Biography related topics

Harrison College (Barbados)

Harrison College (Barbados)

Harrison College is a co-educational grammar school in Bridgetown, Barbados. Founded in 1733, the school takes its name from Thomas Harrison, a Bridgetown merchant, who intended it to serve as "A Public and Free School for the poor and indigent boys of the parish".

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.

Magdalen College, Oxford

Magdalen College, Oxford

Magdalen College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today it is the third wealthiest college, with total assets of £750 million as of 2022, and one of the strongest academically, setting the record for the highest Norrington Score in 2010 and topping the table twice since then. It is home to several of the university's distinguished chairs, including the Agnelli-Serena Professorship, the Sherardian Professorship, and the four Waynflete Professorships.

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.

Friedrich Hayek

Friedrich Hayek

Friedrich August von Hayek, often referred to by his initials F. A. Hayek, was an Austrian-British intellectual who made contributions to economics, political science, psychology, intellectual history, philosophy and other fields. Hayek shared the 1974 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences with Gunnar Myrdal for work on money and economic fluctuations, and the interdependence of economic, social and institutional phenomena. His account of how prices communicate information is widely regarded as an important contribution to economics that led to him receiving the prize.

Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher , was a British politician and stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime minister and the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century. As prime minister, she implemented economic policies that became known as Thatcherism. A Soviet journalist dubbed her the "Iron Lady", a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style.

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He previously served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 to 1975 and as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1947 to 1952 and from 1959 until 1960.

Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States

Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States

The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, protection of human and legal rights, and the encouragement of good governance between countries and territories in the Eastern Caribbean. It also performs the role of spreading responsibility and liability in the event of natural disaster.

Bernard Coard

Bernard Coard

Winston Bernard Coard is a Grenadian politician who was Deputy Prime Minister in the People's Revolutionary Government of the New Jewel Movement. Coard launched a coup within the revolutionary government and took power for three days until he was himself deposed by General Hudson Austin.

Maurice Bishop

Maurice Bishop

Maurice Rupert Bishop was a Grenadian revolutionary and the leader of New Jewel Movement – a Marxist–Leninist party which sought to prioritise socio-economic development, education, and black liberation – that came to power during the 13 March 1979 revolution that removed Eric Gairy from office. Bishop headed the People's Revolutionary Government of Grenada from 1979 to 1983, when he was dismissed from his post and executed during the coup by Bernard Coard, leading to upheaval.

Barbados Defence Force

Barbados Defence Force

The Barbados Defence Force (BDF) is the name given to the combined armed forces of Barbados. The BDF was established 15 August 1979, and has responsibility for the territorial defence and internal security of the island. The headquarters for the Barbados Defence Force is located at St. Ann's Fort, The Garrison, Saint Michael.

Grenada

Grenada

Grenada is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Petite Martinique, and several small islands which lie to the north of the main island and are a part of the Grenadines. It is located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela and southwest of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Its size is 348.5 square kilometres (134.6 sq mi), and it had an estimated population of 124,523 in July 2021. Its capital is St. George's. Grenada is also known as the "Island of Spice" due to its production of nutmeg and mace crops.

Legacy

The ten-story building in Bridgetown which houses the Central Bank of Barbados is today known as the Tom Adams Financial Centre in his honour. He is also one of the namesakes of the island's ABC Highway.

Source: "Tom Adams (politician)", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, March 22nd), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Adams_(politician).

Enjoying Wikiz?

Enjoying Wikiz?

Get our FREE extension now!

References
  1. ^ Christian, Shirley (March 12, 1985). "TOM ADAMS, PRIME MINISTER OF BARBADOS, DIES AT AGE 53". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Kukielski, Philip (2019). The U.S. Invasion of Grenada : legacy of a flawed victory. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co. p. 177. ISBN 978-1-4766-7879-5. OCLC 1123182247.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  3. ^ a b Singh, Rickey (October 24, 2010). "Barbados PM David Thompson is dead - Freundel Stuart sworn in as new leader". Jamaica Observer. Retrieved October 25, 2010.
  4. ^ Agard, Rachelle (March 11, 2016). "Tom Adams remembered". News. Daily Nation Newspaper. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved March 27, 2021. Adams, who served as Prime Minister of the island for nine years before his untimely death in 1985, was remembered by most gathered at the St Michael's Cathedral to lay wreaths at his graveside.
  5. ^ Barbados Prime Minister Dies Of Heart Attack, By Tony Cozier, March 12, 1985, The Associated Press of the U.S.A.
Further reading
Political offices
Preceded by Prime Minister of Barbados
1976–1985
Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Finance of Barbados
1976–1985
Succeeded by


The content of this page is based on the Wikipedia article written by contributors..
The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence & the media files are available under their respective licenses; additional terms may apply.
By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use & Privacy Policy.
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization & is not affiliated to WikiZ.com.