Sir Edward Victor Luckhoo OR (24 May 1912 – 3 March 1998) was a Guyanese politician that was the last

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, ...

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

, and briefly the acting head of state of the Co‑operative Republic of Guyana on its formation in 1970.

Family and education

He was born in

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...

Berbice Berbice () is a region along the Berbice River in Guyana, which was between 1627 and 1792 a colony of the Dutch West India Company and between 1792 and 1815 a colony of the Dutch state. After having been ceded to the United Kingdom of Great Brita ...

, the son of

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

immigrants Evelyn Maude Mungal-Singh and Edward Luckhoo Alfred, a solicitor of Indian extraction, and educated at Queen's College, Guyana and

St Catherine's College, Oxford St Catherine's College (colloquially called St Catz or Catz) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. In 1974, it was also one of the first men's colleges to admit women. It has 528 un ...

, where he was awarded a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree. He studied law at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

, where he was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1931. Admitted to practice in 1936, he was made

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1965. His grandfather Moses Luckhoo came from India as labourer on sugar plantations. He was the brother of lawyer and diplomat Sir Lionel Luckhoo, who was the British High Commissioner for Guyana and Barbados.

Career

He was appointed a Justice of Appeal in 1966 and Chancellor of the Judiciary in October 1969. As Chancellor of the Judiciary from 1969 to 1976, he briefly served as the acting head of state of the Co‑operative Republic of Guyana became a Republic on 23 February 1970. Therefore, Luckhoo was never the president of Guyana and was not officially mentioned.

Honours

He was knighted on 1 January 1970 and received the Order of Roraima of Guyana in 1976. * Knight-Bachelor

Knight Bachelor * Order of Roraima of Guyana

Private life

Edward Luckhoo was married to Maureen Moxlow of

Batley Batley is a market town in the Kirklees district, in West Yorkshire, England, south-west of Leeds, north-west of Wakefield and Dewsbury, south-east of Bradford and north-east of Huddersfield, in the Heavy Woollen District. In 2011, the popu ...

, West Yorkshire, on 9 November 1981. In retirement, they returned to West Yorkshire, and lived in

Ossett Ossett is a market town in the Wakefield district, in the county of West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated between Dewsbury, Horbury and Wakefield. At the 2021 census, the town had a po ...

, where they were both active members of the Anglican Church, and

catechist Catechesis (; from Greek language, Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of Conversion to Christia ...

s for

Confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on o ...

classes. Sir Edward died on 3 March 1998, aged 85, and is buried in Ossett. Lady Luckhoo still resides in the town.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luckhoo, Edward 1912 births 1998 deaths Alumni of St Catherine's College, Oxford Guyanese Anglicans Guyanese emigrants to England 20th-century Guyanese judges Guyanese knights Guyanese politicians of Indian descent Members of the Middle Temple 20th-century King's Counsel Knights Bachelor Governors-general of Guyana People from New Amsterdam, Guyana