The Parliament of Barbados is the third oldest in the Commonwealth, surpassed only by those in Britain and Bermuda.
The first Barbados Parliament was established in 1639 when Governor Captain Henry Hawley formed a representative body from the local planters for inclusion in his administration.
This House of Burgess, as it was then called, was intended to sit with a handpicked Council to run the affairs of the island.
The earliest General Assembly met at a building in Bridgetown known as the Sessions House, situated on the site near the north-western side of the Central Bank of Barbados building. The Assembly later met at several other places in Bridgetown until 1874 when the present Parliament Buildings were constructed.
In the early days, the duration of a Legislative Assembly was not fixed and the Governor summoned or dissolved it as he thought fit. In 1653, the members demanded that the House of Assembly be established and confirmed by law for one year, but this was rejected and it was not until 1660 that this request was granted.
In 1938 the life of parliament was moved to two years. This was further extended to three years in 1949 and then to five years in 1953.
The first female Member of Parliament was Mrs. Ermie Bourne who took her seat as a member of the Barbados Labour Party in 1951. The ladies, however, had to wait another 20 years before a second woman was elected into Parliament. Mrs. Gertrude Eastmond was elected in 1971 as a member of the Democratic Labour Party.
Another woman, Miss Billie Miller, now Dame Billie Miller, was the third female to be elected to Parliament. She first mounted the steps of the House of Assembly in 1976 and that same year was appointed the first female Minister of Government.
Medical practitioner Esther Byer-Suckoo joined this illustrious group, when she won a seat in the 2008 elections and became Minister of Family, Youth Affairs, Sports and the Environment.
Few countries can boast of 369 years of unbroken Parliamentary tradition. For Barbados, this tradition is testament to the stability the island has maintained over the years.
Information assumed accurate on January 21st, 2008
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