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From his dramatic entrance to frontline national politics
in the 1984 St. Peter By-Election, to the global turmoil and
trauma surrounding the “Regime Change” in Iraq
in 2003, Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Owen Arthur,
has manifestly been the man destined to lead Barbados into
and in the 21st century.
The Barbadian
people gave Owen Arthur that opportunity when they re-elected
the Barbados Labour Party to government in 1999 with the most
resounding endorsement ever conferred upon a governing party
and the biggest parliamentary majority ever given to any party
and party leader in the history of this country.
So definitive
a vote of Leader demonstrates the extent to which Barbadians
have placed their faith in Owen Arthur and the extent which
they trust him to manage our country’s affairs to the
greatest good for the greatest number of our citizens
The Prime
Minister earned such trust through the visionary, bold and
decisive leadership he brought to the major crises confronting
Barbados during the last decade.
His economic
wizardry led Barbados out of the shambles and the pain inflicted
on the Barbadian people by the ineptitude, callousness and
recklessness of the Thompson/ Sandiford regime in the early
‘90s.
The BLP
Leader’s genius, clear vision and worldview came confronted
and indeed threatened Barbados and other small developing
states in the late ‘90s.
At the
end of that decade, it fell to Owen Arthur to lead our country
through the global economic downturn that resulted in significant
contraction and plummeting consumer and investor confidence
in a number of OECD countries.
The Prime
Minister of Barbados was notably successful in leading the
response that turned back the OECD onslaught against Barbados
and other jurisdictions, which were deemed to present unfair
tax competition to the major industrialized nations.
His swift
and innovative response to the terrorist attacks on the United
States on September 9, 2001, effectively protected Barbados
from massive job loss in the public and private sectors and
from the resultant social dislocation experienced by many
other countries, including the sole remaining global superpower.
In a
period of back-to-back international crises and unprecedented
challenge and change, Owen Arthur’s leadership has guided
Barbados from strength to greater strength.
Through
all of this, Owen Arthur began every day - as he has confided
- looking for new ways to help Barbadians, to ignite Barbadian
pride and enterprise, and to move our nation forward.
I have
had the opportunity to work closely with the Prime Minister
from the day I spoke at his nomination in the By-Election
which brought him to Parliament; and in government, then in
opposition, and in government again, from 1994.
I have
been in a good position to observe close- up and personal
what Barbados’ second Prime Minister, Tom Adams, famously
described as “One of the finest minds of the century”
in action.
Always
proactive, always strategic, never less than bold, Owen Arthur
recites a mantra that provides clear insight into the character
of his leadership: “We have to find new ways of doing
things” .
He has
proceeded to take the lead in doing precisely this not only
in Barbados, but in the Region, in the Hemisphere and in the
Commonwealth, as well.
It was
inevitable that Prime Minister Arthur would be the primary
advocate for and the principal architect of a protocol for
the sustainable development of small economies, in a joint
initiative of the World Bank and the Commonwealth Secretariat.
He inspired
the resurgence of the Barbadian spirit and the renewal of
our nation in less than a decade.
Prime
Minister Arthur has given new meaning to Independence with
the annual community Independence celebrations, has restored
Barbadian identity, pride and self confidence and has awakened
a new spirit of enterprise in all sections, at all levels
of the society.
He has,
understandably, inspired deep affection in the hearts of all
Barbadians.
This
is well exemplified in the determination of an elderly woman
awaiting his arrival at an event with the publicly stated
and implemented pledge to “ Hug he and put One Kiss
‘pon he”.
Other
elderly Bajan women of similar disposition are legion. They
respect and trust and love their Prime Minister.
It is
generally taken without dissent that there exists between
Owen Arthur and his fellow Barbadians, across all boundaries,
and through the best of times and the worst of times, a mutual
and enduring love affair.
Prime
Minister Arthur is a proven leader for all seasons, and, in
delivery of his policy of inclusion, a leader for all Barbadians.
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