Adams, Sir Grantley Herbert (1898-1971)

premier of Barbados (1954-1958) and Prime Minister of the Federation of the West Indies (1958-1962). Adams's work in the political life of Barbados helped lead to social reform and to significant change in the government of one of the most conservative of all the British colonies. At the age of 20 Adams won a scholarship that enabled him to attend the University of Oxford in England, where he studied classics and law. He then passed the bar finals at Gray's Inn, London, and returned to Barbados. Entering politics, he won a seat in the House of Assembly in 1934 and joined the small group of liberals.

The turning point in Adams's career came in 1937 when poverty and an increasing demand for better conditions of work and life culminated in riots in Barbados and several other Caribbean islands. Adams then identified himself with the people's movement, becoming leader of the newly founded Barbados Progressive League in 1938. This subsequently became the Barbados Labour Party (BLP), which gained the support of the Barbados Workers' Union. Adams first worked to extend voting rights, and then self-government. Qualifications for voting were lowered in 1944, and universal adult suffrage was introduced in 1951.

The cabinet system of government, composed of a premier and other ministers responsible to parliament, was instituted in 1954. Social reforms, such as minimum-wage legislation, workers' compensation and benefits, wider educational opportunities, and laws against racial discrimination were also introduced. Adams became leader of the House of Assembly in 1947, then served as premier from 1954 to 1958. He was knighted for his work in 1952.

At the same time, Adams helped create the Caribbean Labour Congress in the eastern Caribbean and was elected its president in 1947. He worked to create the Federation of the West Indies, combining several British colonies in one political unit, in 1958, and he became its prime minister. When the Federation collapsed in 1962, Adams rebuilt the BLP, which had lost the 1961 election, becoming its leader again and serving as leader of the opposition from 1966 to 1970, after which he resigned from political life.