SAINT JOHNS, Antigua, August 9, 2021–Former Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister and National Hero Sir Lester Bryant Bird has died.
In announcing his death, the Antigua Observer said confirmation of this “came from acting Prime Minister Steadroy Benjamin early this morning,” adding that a release from the Office of the Prime Minister indicated the “sad event took place this morning at about 6am”.
“While details are still coming to hand, Sir Lester had a long battle with health complications,” the Observer noted.
“The administration has also indicated that the acting Prime Minister, in consultation with Prime Minister Prime Minister Gaston Browne, who returns to the state today, has ordered that all flags be flown at half mast, beginning immediately, and that planning commence for a State Funeral at an agreed-upon date,” the Observer stated.
Sir Lester was the second Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda from 1994 to 2004 and a well-known athlete. Wikipedia notes that he was “chairman of the Antigua Labour Party (ALP) from 1971 to 1983, then became Prime Minister when his father, Sir Vere Bird, the previous Prime Minister, resigned.”
Wikipedia adds: “Bird was born in New York City on 21 February 1938. Lester and his elder brother Vere Bird Jr., also a British-educated lawyer, have been considered sometime rivals, with The New York Times writing in 1990 that Lester had always overshadowed his brother, according to those who have known them both.
“He was educated at Antigua Grammar School and was brought up as a Methodist. Bird was a cricket player in his youth, playing for the Leeward Islands, and a long jump champion. He won a bronze medal in the long jump at the 1959 Pan American Games in Chicago while representing the British West Indies. He attended the University of Michigan, where he was All-American long jumper in 1960 and graduated in 1962.
“Bird completed his study of law in Britain and was called to the bar at Gray’s Inn in 1969. From 1969 to 1976, Bird engaged in private practice in Antigua.”
Continuing, Wikipedia adds: “Bird’s political career began in 1971, when he was nominated to the Senate. The frequently-dominant Antigua Labour Party was in opposition for a five-year period. Bird was named chairman of the ALP and the leader of the opposition in the Senate. Lester continued to served as leader of the opposition until he was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1976 elections, when the ALP returned to power.
“Bird joined his father’s government as Deputy Prime Minister. In addition to serving as Deputy Prime Minister, Bird also served as Minister of Economic Development, Tourism, and Energy.”
Wikipedia notes that following Antigua & Barbuda’s independence in 1981, “Bird gained the external affairs portfolio and was the first chairman of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States in 1982.”
“He was chairman of OECS for a second time in 1989. The ALP government and Bird himself won re-election in 1994 and 1999,” Wikipedia adds.
Wikipedia notes that the ALP “had been divided by a succession crisis between Lester Bird and Vere Bird, Jr., since 1989,” adding that Lester Bird “lost his deputy prime minister post in 1991, but retained the external affairs ministry and the planning and trade portfolio.”
Wikipedia notes that in the March 1994 elections, “the ALP under Bird’s leadership won 11 out of 17 seats even as the opposition criticized the ALP over corruption issues. During the election the ALP pledged open government, an ombudsman to deal with citizen complaints, and new jobs, especially in tourism. Bird assumed the prime ministership on March 9, 1994.”
Wikipedia adds: “In the 1999 elections, the ALP increased its parliamentary majority by one seat, holding 12 seats. Bird was reconfirmed as prime minister and elevated Vere Jr. to the cabinet as minister of agriculture, marking his full political rehabilitation. Bird also shuffled his own portfolios and by December 2002 held the foreign affairs, finance, legal affairs, justice, and national security ministries in addition to being the prime minister.
“In the March 2004 election, the ALP was defeated by the United Progressive Party (UPP) led by Baldwin Spencer. Bird’s party lost eight seats, and he himself was defeated by Errol Cort, who became Minister of Finance in the new UPP government.
“Bird remained the ALP’s political leader following the party’s 2004 defeat. He led the party in the March 2009 election; although the ALP lost the election, it gained 3 seats from the UPP and Bird defeated Cort by 96 votes in the St John’s Rural East constituency, where he had lost in 2004. He subsequently held the position of Leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition.
Bird was succeeded as ALP leader by Gaston Browne in 2012, who led the party to victory in June 2014 general election. Bird won a seat and again defeated Errol Cort.
“In 2014, he was made a Knight of the Order of the National Hero (KNH) by Antigua and Barbuda.”
