ADAMS, Grantley
Born in Barbados on 28 April 1898, the Rt Excellent Sir Grantley Herbert Adams was the first and only prime minister of the British West Indian Federation which collapsed after only four years (1958-62). Educated at Harrison College, Barbados, and the University of Oxford, England, he became one of the most successful lawyers in Barbados. He played a prominent role in the formation of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) and the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) and was instrumental in bringing about a number of social, economic and constitutional reforms. A firm advocate of universal suffrage, local autonomy and Caribbean unity Adams did more than any other single individual to extend the Barbadian franchise and to establish the principle of collective bargaining during the 1940s. As the leader of the majority party in 1954, he became the first premier of Barbados when that colony established a system of ministerial self- government. He overhauled the unfair fiscal system that had left the burden of taxation on the poorest sections of the society and initiated such useful reforms as workmen’s compensation and a peasant loan system, before resigning in 1958 to lead the British West Indian Federation. He was knighted in 1957. Adams died on 28 November 1971 and was named a National Hero by the BLP government in April 1998. The international airport at Seawell in Christ Church, Barbados, has also been named after him and his birthday is now being celebrated as a national holiday in his native island.