Errol Walton Barrow (1920 – 1987)
KNOWN AFFECTIONATELY as the Skipper, Errol Barrow was the first Prime Minister of Barbados and an experienced pilot who had flown in about 45 operational bombing missions.
After founding the Democratic Labour Party, which was then elected to office, Barrow made free education available at all levels, introduced the Social Security scheme, and improved the school meals service.
Even more, he was the one who started to place emphasis on Barbados’ tourism development to combat our sole dependence on sugar.
He also co-founded both CARIFTA (Caribbean Free Trade Association) and CARICOM (Caribbean Community), and today, we celebrate his birthday with a national holiday on January 21.
The following was produced by the Barbados Government Information Service.
