Stuart served as acting Prime Minister of Barbados since May 2010 when Prime Minister David Thompson (Barbadian Politician) became ill with pancreatic cancer. Adriel Brathwaite succeeded Stuart in the positions he then held, namely Attorney general and Minister of Home Affairs. Thompson died on 23 October 2010. Leaders of the Democratic Labor Party held an emergency meeting at the party’s Headquarters in George Street In Bridgetown on the morning of Thompson’s death, during which Stuart was chosen as the next Prime Minister. 