The Associated Press BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — Prime Minister David Thompson of Barbados died Saturday following a struggle with pancreatic cancer, the government announced. He was 48.
Thompson, who became prime minister of the Caribbean nation of 270,000 people in January 2008, died before dawn at his private residence in St. Philip, according to a government statement.
Barbados Prime Minister David Thompson, who had been ill with pancreatic cancer, died at his home on Saturday on the Caribbean island, authorities said.
Thompson had been ill since March and traveled to New York several times for treatment. He declined to discuss his condition until last month, when his doctor announced that Thompson had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy.
In an address to the nation last month, Thompson said he was reshuffling his Cabinet to pass many of his responsibilities to other ministers. He said he chose to speak by radio instead of going on camera so islanders would focus on his message, not his appearance.
Thompson’s deputy, Freundel Stuart, has been acting as prime minister.
Messages of condolence came from other leaders across the Caribbean.
“It is a loss to not only the people of Barbados, but also the people of the Caribbean,” said Denzil Douglas, prime minister of St. Kitts and Nevis.
Thompson, who was trained as a lawyer, led his Democratic Labor Party to victory in 2008 elections, defeating an effort by the Barbados Labor Party to win a fourth consecutive term in government.
He is survived by his wife, Marie-Josephine Mara, and their three daughters
Thompson’s attorney general and deputy, Freundel Stuart, was appointed as prime minister to succeed him by the island’s Governor-General, Sir Clifford Husbands.
Thompson, who led the ruling Democratic Labour Party and took office in January 2008, had recently made several visits to the United States for medical treatment.
The next elections are scheduled for 2012 in the former British colony, 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.
