[1] The prime minister remained head of government while the last governor-general, Dame Sandra Mason, was elected as the country's first president on 20 October 2021, and took office on 30 November 2021.
[3] The commission elected Oliver Jackman, a former diplomat and a judge of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, as its vice-chairman.
[8] According to the Referendum Act 2005,[7] the question to be asked was: Do you agree with the recommendation of the Constitution Review Commission that Barbados should become a parliamentary republic with the head of state of Barbados being a president who is a citizen of Barbados?Owen Arthur, as prime minister, stated publicly: "Heaven forbid, but if Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth were to die, if Prince Charles and Prince William were to die, I would have a fundamental difficulty swearing allegiance to King Harry.
"[9][10] The comment came shortly after Prince Harry had attended a public function in fancy dress wearing a Nazi armband in January 2005.
[11][12][13] Mia Mottley, who was Deputy Prime Minister of Barbados, said: "We feel that it is the right thing to do to have a Barbadian head of state.
We accept that there was a concern that the Government alone should not make that decision in this day and age and we are therefore committed to expressing our views to the public and having them pass judgment on it.
[16] On 22 March 2015, Prime Minister Freundel Stuart announced that Barbados would move towards a republican form of government "in the very near future".
Stuart told a meeting of his Democratic Labour Party: "We cannot pat ourselves on the shoulder at having gone into independence; having de-colonised our politics; we cannot pat ourselves on the shoulders at having decolonized our jurisprudence by delinking from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and explain to anybody why we continue to have a monarchical system.
"[17] The general secretary of the Democratic Labour Party, George Pilgrim, confirmed the move and said that it was expected to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Barbadian independence in 2016.
[25][26] In the 2020 Throne Speech, the Governor-General of Barbados, Dame Sandra Mason, stated, "[t]he time has come to fully leave our colonial past behind.
"[27][2] On 3 June 2021, it was reported in Barbadian media outlets that the general public could email to submit suggestions regarding the republic issue.
[34][38] Queen Elizabeth II sent a message of congratulations to President Mason, saying "As you celebrate this momentous day, I send you and all Barbadians my warmest good wishes for your happiness, peace and prosperity in the future.
"[39][40] In the 1990s, several judicial rulings by the judges of the Judicial Committee of the British Privy Council seeking to curtail[41] the practice of death penalty in the Caribbean despite substantial support for it[42] led to calls by some indicating that if breaking ties with the United Kingdom was needed to carry out capital punishment as a form a justice it was the path the country (or region) needed to take.
[43][44][45] Subsequent meetings were held at the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of Government level calling for the need to replace the Judicial Committee of the British Privy Council and widened debate on other aspects of ties leading calls of a Caribbean Court of Justice in the region.
[47] Sir Garfield Sobers, Barbadian national hero and former cricketer, criticised the government's decision to become a republic, and said, "The Queen was very highly appreciated here.
[51] British television personality, Jeremy Clarkson, claimed that the change marked a shift of influence in Barbadian affairs from the United Kingdom to China.
[52] In Canada, a constitutional monarchy and Commonwealth realm, Members of Parliament belonging to the Conservative Party sang Canada's royal anthem, "God Save the Queen", in parliament on 1 December 2021, while rejecting a Bloc Québécois motion to congratulate Barbados on "renouncing the British monarchy".