Owen Arthur

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The Rt. Hon. Owen Arthur

5th Prime Minister of Barbados
Incumbent
Assumed office September 6, 1994 - 1999 January 20, 1999 - 2003 May 21, 2003 -
Preceded by	Erskine Sandiford

Born	October 17, 1949 Barbados
Constituency	Saint Peter
Political party	Barbados Labour Party
Spouse	Julie Ann Price
Profession	Economist

Owen Seymour Arthur, MP, BA, MSc. (born 17 October 1949) is the current Prime Minister of Barbados.

He is leader of the Barbados Labour Party, which brought him to victory in general elections in September 1994. He won general elections again in January 1999 and 2003. Owen Arthur is currently the member of parliament for the constituency of Saint Peter.

Owen Arthur was educated at the University of the West Indies - Cave Hill, Barbados and Mona, Jamaica where he earned a BA in economics and history (1971) and an MSc in economics (1974). After graduating he held positions with Jamaica's National Planning Agency and the Jamaica Bauxite Institute before returning to Barbados and joining the Ministry of Finance and Planning in 1981.

He was appointed to the Barbados Senate in 1983 and elected to the House of Assembly in 1984. He was chosen to serve as Leader of the Opposition in 1993.

One of the main platforms of Prime Minister Owen Arthur for the 2003 elections was his promise to continue the process of Independence for Barbados and transform the country into a Parliamentary Republic, replacing Queen Elizabeth II with a Barbadian President as Head of State. Owen Arthur stated a national referendum would be given in 2005 with a question to poll the public which would read something like: "Do you believe Barbados should have a Barbadian as its head of state?" This referendum has been pushed back in order to speed up the implementation process for the Caribbean (CARICOM) Single Market and Economy.

Owen Arthur is the holder of the Order of José Marti of Cuba.