Speaker of the House of Assembly

 



  His Honourable Arthur Holder, SC, MP

 

ARTHUR EUGENE HOLDER

Arthur Holder is Member of Parliament for the Constituency of Saint Michael Central in the Parliament of Barbados of Barbados and was appointed Speaker of the House of Assembly on June 5th, 2018.

Arthur also served as an Opposition Senator from 2009-2010.

An attorney-at-Law, Arthur was called to the Bar on the 13th October 2000 and was elevated to Senior Counsel (SC) in June 2023. He is the Lead Attorney-at-law of the firm Holder & Co., which specializes in Criminal, Property, Civil and Family Law.

Prior to being an Attorney-at-Law, Arthur worked in the area of Social Work at the Child Care Board, as the Manager of this Statutory Corporation.  Arthur’s Social Work included that of Programme Officer at the National Council of Substance Abuse.

Arthur, the educator, founded the Urban Adult College, a private educational institute catering to the needs of adult school leavers who completed secondary school without formal certification thereby empowering them through further education with the opportunity to gain qualification. 

Since being appointed Speaker, Arthur has been a Director of Parlamericas since 2019, a member of Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) since 2020, a member the Standing Committee of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth since 2022, a member of the Executive Committee of the CPA since 2022, the Vice Chairperson of the CPA from 2023, and the Acting Chairperson of the CPA effective June 2024.   Arthur has delivered a number of parliamentary papers and moderated several sessions inclusive of:

1.  A paper entitled ‘Building Consensus to Support Inclusive Democratic Engagement” at Parlamericas 1X Summit of the Americas Communication held in Los Angeles, California from June 6-10, 2022.

2.  Panelist on the Regional Roundtable Dialogue on Human Rights and LGBTI people held in Barbados from September 15 to 16, 2022 organized by Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA).

3.  Delivered a Paper at the 43rd annual Forum of the PGA held in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 4 to 5 November 2022, which was devoted to the 12th Consultative Assembly of Parliamentarians on the International Criminal Court and the rule of Law (CAP-ICC).

4.  Chaired a workshop on “the ever-evolving requirements for parliaments in relation to physical (premises and Members) and cybersecurity: at the 26th CSPOC held in Canberra, Australia from January 3 to 6, 2023.

5.  Delivered a Paper on Cybercrime at the Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) Regional Caribbean Parliamentary Workshop addressing Cybercrime, held in Trinidad and Tobago from 5 to 6 July 2023.

6.  Chaired a workshop on “Security Measures for Parliamentarians and Parliaments” at the 27th CSPOC held in Kampala, Uganda from 3 to 6 January 2024.

7.  Delivered a paper on the State of Climate Change Impacts in the Caribbean-Making loss and Climate finance a reality to support the achievement of climate and sustainable development goals at a workshop sponsored by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago on 27th to 29th May 2024.

8.  Moderated at the 20th Plenary Assembly of Parlamericas and the 8th meeting of the Open Parliament Network held from May 8 to 10, 2024 in Paraguay on the theme: “Advances on Open Parliament, Commitments and Actions”.

 

 

 

EDUCATION:

Combermere Boys School, Bridgetown Barbados:                 1967-1975

Barbados Community College, Bridgetown, Barbados:          1976-1978

University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados:                1979-1983:  (B.Sc. Hons.) Public Administration.

Barry University, Miami, Florida, USA:                                  1990-1992: Master of Social Work (M.S.W)

University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados:                1996-1998: Bachelor of Laws: (LL.B. Hons.)

      Hugh Wooding Law School, St. Augustine, Trinidad:              1998-2000: Legal Education Certificate