Theodore Brent Symonette (born 2 December 1954) is a Bahamian businessman and

Free National Movement The Free National Movement (abbreviated FNM) is a political party in the Bahamas formed in the early 1970s and led by Sir Cecil Wallace-Whitfield. The current leader of the party is Michael Pintard and the current deputy leader is Shanendon C ...

politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for St. Anne's constituency from 2007 to 2012 and 2017 to 2021. In his first term, he served as

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

Hubert Ingraham Hubert Alexander Ingraham, PC (born 4 August 1947) is a Bahamian politician who was Prime Minister of the Bahamas from August 1992 to May 2002, and again from May 2007 to May 2012. He is a member of the Free National Movement Party (FNM). Pr ...

and Minister of Foreign Affairs. In his second, he was the Minister of Financial Services, Trade and Industry and Immigration from 2017 to 2019.

Early life

Symonette was born in

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of The Bahamas. It is on the island of New Providence, which had a population of 246,329 in 2010, or just over 70% of the entire population of The Bahamas. As of April 2023, the preliminary results of ...

. He is the youngest son of Sir Roland Symonette (1898–1980), the first

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

of the Bahamas and Lady Margaret Symonette ''née'' Frances. Symonette is also the half brother of Bobby Symonette, who served as Speaker of the House of Assembly. He studied law in London and is a member of the Bahamas Bar. Symonette is also an established real estate broker.

Career

Symonette was appointed to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in 1987 by Sir

Cecil Wallace-Whitfield Sir Cecil Vincent Wallace Whitfield (20 March 1930 – 9 May 1990) was a Bahamian politician who was a founding member and the first leader of the Free National Movement political party. He also served as a Minister in the cabinet of Lynden Pind ...

and reappointed to the Senate in 1992 by

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

. Symonette was one of a handful of

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

Members of Parliament. Symonette served as

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

in 1995, Minister of Tourism and Chairman of the Airport Authority. As Chairman of the Hotel Corporation of the Bahamas, Symonette was instrumental in negotiations that resulted in bringing the Atlantis Hotel and affiliated resort properties to the Bahamas. Symonette was the first MP to hold the St Anne's constituency upon its creation in 2007. Following the FNM victory in the general election that year, Symonette was sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs in Ingraham's government on May 4. In January 2012, Symonette announced he would be resigning from politics and stood down at the 2012 general election. In 2016, his successor Hubert Chipman withdrew his name from consideration for the FNM nomination. Symonette changed his mind and, despite supporting

Loretta Butler-Turner Loretta Butler-Turner is a Bahamian mortician and politician. She was the leader of the opposition in the Bahamian Parliament from December 2016 to May 2017. Early life Loretta Butler-Turner was born in Nassau, Bahamas to Rose Marie (née Tayl ...

over

Hubert Minnis Hubert Alexander Minnis, ON (born 16 April 1954) is a Bahamian politician and doctor who served as prime minister of The Bahamas from May 2017 to 16 September 2021. Minnis is the former leader of the Free National Movement, the former governing ...

in the FNM leadership contest, announced in early 2017 that he would re-enter politics and was willing to work with Minnis. Symonette was sworn in as Minister of Financial Services, Trade and Industry and immigration after regaining his seat in the 2017 general election. He served in that capacity until 1 July 2019 when he resigned. He confirmed that he would complete his tenure as MP and continue supporting the FNM in future elections, but would not seek re-election himself.Lindsay Thompson, "Bahamas Governor General challenges new government", Caribbean Net News, May 9, 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Symonette, Brent 1954 births Living people People from Nassau, Bahamas Bahamian businesspeople Members of the Senate of the Bahamas Members of the House of Assembly of the Bahamas Attorneys general of the Bahamas Free National Movement politicians Children of prime ministers Deputy prime ministers of the Bahamas Government ministers of the Bahamas Ministers of foreign affairs of the Bahamas Tourism ministers of the Bahamas 21st-century Bahamian politicians