Draft:Ronnie Yearwood

Dr. Ronnie Yearwood
Born	Ronnie Rottchell Fernando Yearwood Barbados
Nationality	Barbadian
Alma mater	University of the West Indies
Occupation(s)	Lawyer, Lecturer, Political Leader
Spouse	Dr Lucy Weidner
Children	1
Awards	Chevening Scholarship, Barbados National Development Scholarship

Dr. Ronnie Yearwood, J.P. is a Barbadian politician, university lecturer, lawyer and writer is the President and leader of the Democratic Labour Party since 2022.. Yearwood is tenth person to lead the Democratic Labour Party since its formation in 1955 by Errol Barrow, father of independence of Barbados, National Hero of Barbados and World War II hero. Yearwood is one of the youngest political leaders in the Caribbean, making him the first millennial generation leader in Barbados.

Early Life, Family and Education

Dr Yearwood is married to Dr Lucy Weidner and they have a young son. The couple met at university when Yearwood was studying for his masters and later his doctorate.

Yearwood spent the early years of his life without running water, indoor plumbing and electricity in the small rural village of Boscobelle in St. Peter, Barbados. He lived with his mother, brother, aunt and cousins in a dilapidated house opposite what was then the Boscobelle girl’s school. He later around aged five moved to Speightstown, St. Peter.

Dr Ronnie Yearwood was educated at the Speightstown Boys’ School, later Roland Edwards’ Primary School; the beacon of the North, Alexandra School (in Speightstown, Barbados). He studied Political Science, Sociology and Economics at the Barbados Community College, and studied for a double degree in Political Science and Sociology at the University of the West Indies (Cave Hill, Barbados). He matriculated directly into second year at the University of West Indies from the Barbados Community College, having been an outstanding student. He was part of the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Debating Team.

In his final year at the University of the West Indies he was accepted as a study abroad student (having to meet normal matriculation) at the University of California Berkeley where he excelled with a 4.0 GPA. While at Berkeley, he resided at and was elected student President of the International House, and sat on the Board of the International House.

On receiving the Chevening Scholarship, he would pursue a Masters in Law (International Trade) at the Newcastle Law School, University of Newcastle upon Tyne (later Newcastle University), graduating with a distinction and first in his class and the highest grade on record at that time. He would return to the University of Newcastle upon Tyne having received the National Development (Barbados) Scholarship with funding only for the first year of his doctorate. He would receive the Overseas Research Scholarship, University of Newcastle International Scholarships, and work part-time in the Law Library, and at a local deli and temporary data clerk (at the Rural Payments Agency) to help fund his studies. He started and finished his doctorate including graduation in a record time of three years. His doctoral thesis received no corrections, and as doctoral thesis are not awarded grades, this is an important accolade.

Youth Advocate

As a young person, he was instrumental in the formation and rebuilding of two key national youth organisations that still exist today; the Barbados Youth Parliament, leading the parliament as prime minister and the Barbados Youth Development Council, becoming its vice-president. He was also a regular panelist and occasional host on popular C.B.C TV programme, “Tomorrow’s People Parked.” He wrote regular columns and contributed to national debates and policy as it affected youth.

Career

Early Career

After completing his undergraduate degree at the University of the West Indies, he would later work teaching at the Barbados Community College and as a research officer in the Prime Minister’s Office (Barbados), having also interned there when he was in his teens. In the Prime Minister’s Office, he specifically worked with the Research Office, the Caribbean Single Market & Economy Implementation Unit, and the National Committee on Cultural Industries. As a young researcher and policy analyst he attended the Consultation on Options for Governance to Accelerate the Process for Regional Integration as part of the Inter-sessional Meetings of Heads of Government of the CARICOM Community, having co-written with Marsha Drakes (and George Belle) the seminal paper, “Shifting the Rubicon: New Governance and the CARICOM Single Market and Economy

Lawyer in London

Dr. Yearwood is qualified lawyer in Barbados, British Virgin Islands and England & Wales. He has practiced international finance and banking law, which included structured products, derivatives, restructuring and loans; general commercial, contract and corporate law, and offshore law. He practiced at top tiered international law firm, Ashurst which is over 200 years old and K&L Gates in London, and leading offshore law firm, Conyers Dill & Pearman in the British Virgin Islands. He has also worked in-house in the Treasury Legal team of the top investment bank Goldman Sachs International (London).

University lecturer and Advocate

Dr. Yearwood is a lecturer in law at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill (Barbados). He has also lectured at the Durham Law School, the School of Oriental and African Studies and the University College London before entering into practice. He has published numerous papers on various areas of law including constitutional law, law and politics, commercial law, trade law and legal education. He also published a book, exploring international legal systems, “The Relationship between World Trade Organisation (WTO) Law and External Law: The Constrained Openness of WTO Law” (Routledge, Cambridge, UK), 2012.

He has been an advocate for constitutional reform, strongly critiquing and offering alternatives to the government’s approach to Barbados becoming a republic in 2012. He supported the move to a republic but argued that the government should have consulted with the people of Barbados through a referendum on the type of republic Barbados should become, or if not some other form of consultation, instead of the government unilaterally making the decision.

Columnist

For five years, Yearwood wrote a regular newspaper column, “Outside the Box” exploring various socio-economic issues in Barbados, Caribbean and the world for the Business Authority of the Nation newspaper, and then for the online newspaper Barbados Today. He has also delivered several public lectures, exploring governance, accountability and socio-economic issues. The most recent, the Errol Barrow memorial lecture in 2021, titled, “Errol Barrow’s Legacy – A New Vision” attempted to set out a new vision for Barbados that promotes social justice and economic enfranchisement