Barbadian Prime Minister David Thompson, who had been ill with pancreatic cancer, died at his home on Saturday aged 48, and his deputy was quickly sworn in to take charge of the Caribbean island’s government.
Thompson, who led the Democratic Labour Party and took office as prime minister of the former British colony in January 2008 after winning elections, had not been seen in public for months. He recently made several visits to the US for medical treatment after being diagnosed with cancer.
Thompson’s attorney general and deputy, Freundel Stuart, was appointed as the new prime minister by Barbados Governor--General Sir Clifford Husbands, after local lawmakers nominated him for the post. Stuart was sworn in on Saturday.
PHOTO: EPA
The Democratic Labour Party holds 21 of the 30 seats in the parliament of Barbados.
The next elections are officially scheduled for 2012 on the island, which won independence in 1966 and has overcome the decline of its once-powerful sugar industry to grow relatively wealthy through high-end tourism, light industry and offshore financial services.
When he took office in 2008 at the age of 46, Thompson was Barbados’ youngest-ever elected prime minister.
Although his illness was well known, his death still stunned some Barbadians.
“I knew he was going to die, but I was still shocked,” said Shellie Welch, 34, a clerk.
“Barbados has lost its loyal son and faithful servant before he had the time to realize his lifetime dreams,” said Thompson’s wife Mara, who was at the family home with their three daughters when he died in the early hours on Saturday.
Thompson had last addressed the nation by radio on Sept. 30, when he reshuffled his Cabinet, giving the finance minister portfolio he had also held to Chris Sinckler.
Other Caribbean leaders, such as Grenadian Prime Minister Tillman Thomas and St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Denzil Douglas sent their condolences and praised Thompson.
The US on Saturday offered its condolences.
“On behalf of [US] President [Barack] Obama and the people of the United States, I offer my deepest condolences to the people of Barbados on the passing of Prime Minister David Thompson,” US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said.
“Barbados has lost a leader and the nations of the Americas have lost a friend and valued partner,” she said in a statement.
“Prime Minister Thompson was a champion for democracy and justice in the Caribbean and an advocate for wider prosperity and opportunity throughout the region,” she said.
Thompson’s personal doctor announced in the middle of last month that Thompson had cancer of the pancreas, the Caribbean Broadcasting Corp said. He is survived by his mother, father, wife and three children.
NO EXCUSES: Marcos said his administration was acting on voters’ demands, but an academic said the move was emotionally motivated after a poor midterm showing Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday sought the resignation of all his Cabinet secretaries, in a move seen as an attempt to reset the political agenda and assert his authority over the second half of his single six-year term. The order came after the president’s allies failed to win a majority of Senate seats contested in the 12 polls on Monday last week, leaving Marcos facing a divided political and legislative landscape that could thwart his attempts to have an ally succeed him in 2028. “He’s talking to the people, trying to salvage whatever political capital he has left. I think it’s
Polish presidential candidates offered different visions of Poland and its relations with Ukraine in a televised debate ahead of next week’s run-off, which remains on a knife-edge. During a head-to-head debate lasting two hours, centrist Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, from Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s governing pro-European coalition, faced the Eurosceptic historian Karol Nawrocki, backed by the right-wing populist Law and Justice party (PiS). The two candidates, who qualified for the second round after coming in the top two places in the first vote on Sunday last week, clashed over Poland’s relations with Ukraine, EU policy and the track records of their
UNSCHEDULED VISIT: ‘It’s a very bulky new neighbor, but it will soon go away,’ said Johan Helberg of the 135m container ship that run aground near his house A man in Norway awoke early on Thursday to discover a huge container ship had run aground a stone’s throw from his fjord-side house — and he had slept through the commotion. For an as-yet unknown reason, the 135m NCL Salten sailed up onto shore just meters from Johan Helberg’s house in a fjord near Trondheim in central Norway. Helberg only discovered the unexpected visitor when a panicked neighbor who had rung his doorbell repeatedly to no avail gave up and called him on the phone. “The doorbell rang at a time of day when I don’t like to open,” Helberg told television
A team of doctors and vets in Pakistan has developed a novel treatment for a pair of elephants with tuberculosis (TB) that involves feeding them at least 400 pills a day. The jumbo effort at the Karachi Safari Park involves administering the tablets — the same as those used to treat TB in humans — hidden inside food ranging from apples and bananas, to Pakistani sweets. The amount of medication is adjusted to account for the weight of the 4,000kg elephants. However, it has taken Madhubala and Malika several weeks to settle into the treatment after spitting out the first few doses they
RSS