Sir Allen Montgomery Lewis (26 October 1909 – 18 February 1993) was a

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

and

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who twice served as the country's

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

Early life

Lewis was born in Castries, St Lucia, where he was educated at the Castries Anglican Infant and Primary Schools and Saint Mary's College. He then studied law at

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

and the

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. He became a member of Castries City Council in 1941, acting as Chairman six times. He was one of the founders and the first president of the Saint Lucia Labour Party in 1950. Before his appointments to the viceregal post, Sir Allen sat on the legislative council (1943–1951) and was a senator in the Federal Parliament of the West Indies Federation (1958–1959). Lewis had a distinguished legal career alongside his political accomplishments; he was a judge on the Jamaican Court of Appeal (1962–1967) and the first Chief Justice of the West Indies Associated States Supreme Court (1967–1972). In 1975 he became Chancellor of the

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 18 English-speaking countries and territories in t ...

. In 1972, he returned to Saint Lucia and spent two years establishing a National Development Corporation to develop the economy of the island, after which he was appointed Governor of Saint Lucia, the Queen's representative. When St Lucia gained independence in 1979, Lewis served twice in the equivalent role as Governor-General of Saint Lucia (1979–1980 and 1982–1987). His brother, W. Arthur Lewis, won the

Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, officially the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel (), commonly referred to as the Nobel Prize in Economics(), is an award in the field of economic sciences adminis ...

for his work on developing countries and the " Lewis turning point".

Honours and awards

* 1952: Awarded the Coronation Medal. * 1968: Made

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

. * 1974: Awarded honorary degree of Doctor of Laws by the

. * 1975: Made a Knight of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. * 1977: Awarded the Jubilee Medal. * 1979: Made a Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Saint Michael and Saint George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

(GCMG). * 1985: Awarded the Grand Cross of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

(GCVO).

References

Biography
(Saint Lucia Government House)

External links

Governors General of Saint LuciaCivics
1909 births 1993 deaths 20th-century Saint Lucian lawyers Alumni of University of London Worldwide Chief justices of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court Governors of British Saint Lucia Governors-general of Saint Lucia Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Lucia Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Knights of the Order of St John Members of the Federal Parliament of the West Indies Federation Members of the Middle Temple People associated with the University of the West Indies People from Castries Saint Lucian judges Saint Lucian judges of international courts and tribunals Saint Lucian judges on the courts of Jamaica {{SaintLucia-politician-stub