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. History In 1979, a commission of inquiry known as the Cox Commission on the Constitution was constituted and charged with studying the feasibility of introducing a parliamentary republican system. The Cox Commission came to the conclusion that Barbadians preferred to maintain the constitutional monarchy. The proposal to move to a republican status was therefore not pursued. The 1994 manifesto of the Barbados Labour Party dealt with the republic issue, proposing a referendum. In line with this promise, on 29 October 1996 a Constitution Review Commission, chaired by Henry de Boulay Forde, was appointed to review the Constitution of Barbados. The Commission reported back on 15 December 1998, and recommended that Barbados adopt a parliamentary republican system. In 1999, the Barbados Labour Party's manifesto proposed that the findings of the commission and its recommendation that Barbados become a republic would receive the early attention of the government. A referendum bill was introduced in parliament and had its first reading on 10 October 2000. With the dissolution of parliament just prior to the elections in 2003, the bill was not carried over.