Tom Adams (politician)

The Right Honourable Tom Adams QC
2nd Prime Minister of Barbados
In office September 8, 1976 – March 11, 1985
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor General	Deighton Lisle Ward Hugh Springer
Deputy	Bernard St. John
Preceded by	Errol Barrow
Succeeded by	Bernard St. John
Personal details
Born	September 24, 1931(1931-09-24) Barbados
Died	March 11, 1985(1985-03-11) (aged 53) Barbados
Political party	Barbados Labour Party
Residence	Ilaro Court 1984 - 1985
Occupation	Lawyer

Jon Michael Geoffrey Manningham "Tom" Adams (September 24, 1931 – March 11, 1985) was a Barbadian politician who served as Prime Minister of Barbados from 1976 until 1985.

Biography

Personal life

He was the only son of Grantley Adams (a lawyer and the only Premier of the West Indies Federation) and Grace Adams, née Thorne.

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 (DLP), which had governed the island since independence in 1966.

Adams moved the country in the direction of Margaret Thatcher's Britain and Ronald Reagan's United States, reflecting the conservatism of the early 1980s. This alliance found its greatest expression when Tom Adams was the leading proponent in the grouping of Eastern Caribbean states which asked Reagan to intervene in overthrowing the Cuban-backed communist regime of Bernard Coard who had toppled Maurice Bishop, who was later murdered, in Grenada. 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 Bajan 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.

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.^[1]

Adams' deputy Prime Minister, Bernard St. John, succeeded him but the Barbadian turned back to the other political party, Errol Barrow, and his DLP in the subsequent election in 1986. Ironically, Barrow too would die in office in 1987 shortly after his election victory.^[1]

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.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Singh, Rickey (2010-10-24). "Barbados PM David Thompson is dead - Freundel Stuart sworn in as new leader". Jamaica Observer. http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Barbados-PM-David-Thompson-is-dead_8083632. Retrieved 2010-10-25. 

Further reading

• Tom Adams biography, The Caribbean Community secretariat

See also

• Politics of Barbados
• List of Premiers/Prime Ministers of Barbados

Preceded by Errol Barrow

Prime Minister of Barbados 1976 – 1985

Succeeded by Harold Bernard St. John

Persondata
Name	Adams, Jon Michael Geoffrey Manningham
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	September 24, 1931
Place of birth	Barbados
Date of death	March 11, 1985
Place of death	Barbados