By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., May 11, 2024 – I have written on many occasions about my indebtedness to Sir Arthur A. Foulkes for my accomplishments as a journalist as well as for being my mentor when my personal behaviour as a Black Power advocate could have resulted in me ending up in Fox Hill Prison during the struggle for majority rule in The Bahamas in the 1960s.
So, I am extremely pleased that my Lord and Savior has generously blessed him with long life as he celebrates his 96th birthday today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE ARTHUR
Sir Arthur was born in Mathew Town, Inagua, on May 11, 1928, the son of the late Dr. William A. Foulkes and Mrs. Julie Foulkes nee Maisonneuve.
He was educated at public schools in Matthew Town and Nassau and worked at The Nassau Guardian as a linotype operator and proofreader, before joining The Tribune as a linotype operator in 1948.
It was at The Tribune that I first met Sir Arthur when I joined the staff of The Tribune in May of 1960 as a trainee reporter. Sir Arthur at the time was The Tribune’s News Editor, essentially the person in charge of the newsroom. He took me “under his wings,” as the saying goes, and not only took a special interest in my development as a journalist, but also offered me some “fatherly advice” at those times when it seemed as if my life was spiraling out of control because of my commitment to the Black Power Movement.
As I noted in previous articles, I am convinced that if it were not for Sir Arthur, especially during the years in the mid-1960s when I worked with him at Bahamian Times, I would have ended up at Fox Hill Prison and my life would have been totally ruined.
Sir Arthur was founding editor of Bahamian Times, the official organ of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) from 1962 to 1967. He drafted the PLP’s petition to the United Nations Committee of Twenty Four (on decolonisation) and was a member of the delegation that presented the petition in 1965. He also drafted the first platform of the Free National Movement in 1971.
Sir Arthur was elected to Parliament in 1967, serving in various offices over the years, including Minister of Communications and Minister of Tourism in the PLP Government.
Under his leadership the Ministry of Tourism chalked up impressive gains in 1969, including presiding over the complete Bahamianisation of the management of BaTtelCo, the national public telephone corporation.
Sir Arthur was instrumental in enabling black Bahamian stewardesses to work on international flights. It was on his ministerial watch in 1968 that the Bahamas-based International Air Bahama flew to Europe for the first time.
Sir Arthur was one of the Dissident Eight who rejected the leadership of Sir Lynden Pindling in 1970 and was a founder of the Free National Movement in 1971. He was appointed to the Senate in 1972 and 1977 and re-elected to the House of Assembly in 1982.
In 1972 he was an Opposition delegate to The Bahamas Independence Constitution Conference in London and drafted the conference’s Opposition Memorandum.
In 1992 Sir Arthur entered the diplomatic service of The Bahamas as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and Ambassador to France, Germany, Italy, Belgium and the European Union (resident in London).
He represented The Bahamas to the Commonwealth in London, and the African Caribbean Pacific Group in Brussels, was Permanent Representative to the International Maritime Organization and also Doyen of the Caribbean diplomatic corps in the United Kingdom. He founded Friends of The Bahamas, a London-based association.
In 1999 he was appointed the first Bahamas Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China and Ambassador to the Republic of Cuba (both nonresident). He is a founding member of the China Bahamas Friendship Association.
After the FNM was returned to office in May 2007, he was appointed Director General of Bahamas Information Services, the Government’s news agency, and designated to act as Deputy to the Governor General.
Sir Arthur was sworn in as the eighth Governor-General of The Bahamas on April 14, 2010. In recognition of his new status, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II elevated Sir Arthur to the status of the Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George in June 2010.
