Prime Minister of the West Indies Federation

Prime Minister of the West Indies Federation

Coat of arms of the Federation of the West Indies
Style The Right Honourable
Appointer Governor-General of the West Indies Federation
Precursor Office established
Formation 18 April 1958
First holder Grantley Herbert Adams
Final holder Grantley Herbert Adams
Abolished 31 May 1962
Succession None

This is a list of the Prime Ministers of the West Indies Federation (also known as the British Caribbean Federation), consisting of ten provinces: Antigua (with Barbuda), Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica (with the Cayman Islands and the Turks & Caicos Islands), Montserrat, St. Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and Trinidad and Tobago. The Federation was formed on 3 January 1958, and was formally dissolved on 31 May 1962.

The Prime Minister was elected by the House of Representatives from among its members, constitutionally acted as an advisor to the Governor-General of the West Indies Federation, and was involved in economic planning, but had very little power beyond those roles, being junior to the position of Governor-General.[1]

Starting in January 1959, the Governor-General, Lord Hailes, attempted to get Adams to step down so he could be replaced with Norman Manley, whom Hailes saw as endorsing "decentralised federation" and being able to bring "most responsible people in Jamaica" with him.[2]

Prime Minister of the West Indies Federation (1958-1962)

Parties

      West Indies Federal Labour Party

# Picture Name
(Born–Died)
Took office Left office Political Party
1 Grantley Herbert Adams
(1898–1971)
18 April 1958 31 May 1962 West Indies Federal Labour Party

References

  1. The Growth of the Modern West Indies. Gordon K. Lewis, Ian Randle Publishers, 2004. Pp. 386-87.
  2. Ordering Independence: The End of Empire in the Anglophone Caribbean. Spencer Mawby, Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. Pp. 155, 160.