Sir Geoffrey Adams Dinwiddie Johnstone, (19 September 1927 – 4 August 2017) was a Bahamian politician and lawyer.

Early life and education

Johnstone was born in Nassau, Bahamas, on 19 September 1927, the eldest son of the late Bruce Eric Johnstone and Wilhelmina Helena Aline Johnstone née Kemp. He graduated from Queen's College secondary school, Nassau, Bahamas in September 1945 and began working an insurance agent for the British American Insurance Company. In 1947, he enrolled in the

Inns of Court School of Law The City Law School is a law school in London, England, and it is one of the six schools of City, University of London. The law school traces its origins to the Inns of Court School of Law (ICSL), which was founded in 1852. The ICSL became par ...

and 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 ...

of England and Wales 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 ...

in June 1950. He was called to the Bahamas Bar in August 1950.

Law career

In August 1950, Johnstone joined the firm of Higgs & Johnson and was admitted to partnership in 1952. He became senior partner in 1968 and served in that capacity until his retirement in December 1998. He served as president of the

Bahamas Bar Association The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. It ...

from June 1973 to June 1975 and as vice president from June 1975 to June 1976.

Political career

He took an early interest in politics after his return from his studies abroad. He was elected to the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible g ...

for the Eastern District of

New Providence New Providence is the most populous island in The Bahamas, containing more than 70% of the total population. On the eastern side of the island is the national capital, national capital city of Nassau, Bahamas, Nassau; it had a population of 246 ...

in November 1962 and served that constituency until January 1967 when he was returned as the Member for the Montagu Constituency where he served until September 1972. He served in the

United Bahamian Party The United Bahamian Party (UBP) was a major political party in the Bahamas in the 1950s and 1960s. Representing the interests of the white oligarchy known as the Bay Street Boys, including Stafford Sands, it was the ruling party between 1958 and ...

Cabinet as Minister of Road Traffic and Records from January 1964 to January 1967. In February 1970, he was appointed

leader of the opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

and served in that office until July 1971. He served as chairman of the Hotel Corporation of the Bahamas from October 1992 to December 1994, during which period the corporation was very involved in the privatization of its hotels. He has also served as deputy to the

governor general of the Bahamas A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' may ...

on various occasions. In July 1995, he was appointed non-resident ambassador of the Bahamas to Chile, Argentina and Uruguay.

Honours

Johnstone was appointed a Companion of the Most Distinguished

Order of St. Michael and St. 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 ...

(CMG) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 31 December 1993 in the Queen's New Years Honours for 1994. He was made Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished

(KCMG) on 31 December 2001 in the Queen's New Years Honours for 2002.

Personal

Johnstone's hobbies included boating, fishing and shooting. He served as an elder of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Kirk from April 1963 until his death. In November 2010. At the celebration of the Kirk's 200th anniversary, he received an achievement award for outstanding service to the Kirk and its mission. Sir Geoffrey died on 4 August 2017.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnstone, Geoffrey Adams Dinwiddie Government ministers of the Bahamas 2017 deaths 1927 births Bahamian Presbyterians United Bahamian Party politicians Ambassadors of the Bahamas to Chile Ambassadors of the Bahamas to Argentina Ambassadors of the Bahamas to Uruguay People from Nassau, Bahamas Members of the Middle Temple Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George 20th-century Bahamian lawyers Leaders of the opposition (Bahamas)