Ivor Grenville Theophilus Bird (29 February 1944 – 3 December 2024) was an Antiguan businessman and the son of

Vere Bird Sir Vere Cornwall Bird, Order of the National Hero (Antigua and Barbuda), KNH (9 December 1909 – 28 June 1999) was the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda#Prime Ministers of Antigua and Barbuda, 1981-present, first Prime Minister of Antigua ...

, one-time

Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda The prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda is the head of government of the Antigua and Barbuda. The prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda is appointed by the Governor-General. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet, selects its ministers, an ...

. Bird was a

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

er and he was the last gold medallist in that event at the

British West Indies Championships The British West Indies Championships was an annual track and field competition between nations involved in the West Indies Federation and several other Caribbean nations with a British colonial history. Like the federation itself, the competition w ...

in 1965. His brother,

Lester Bird Sir Lester Bryant Bird (21 February 1938 – 9 August 2021) was an Antiguan politician and athlete who served as the second prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda from 1994 to 2004. He was chairman of the Antigua Labour Party (ALP) from 1971 to ...

, was also a track athlete and former champion at this competition. Ivor Bird also represented Antigua and Barbuda in high jump at the

1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Kingston, Jamaica, from 4 to 13 August 1966. This was the first time that the Games had been held outside the so-called White Dominions. The event was followed by the 1966 Commonweal ...

. The director of ZDK, Antigua's government broadcasting system, in 1995 Bird was caught smuggling 10 kg of

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

through V. C. Bird International Airport with an accomplice, Marcus Alberto Chapman. He was formally charged with possession of cocaine with the intent to both sell and transfer by Judge Mario Ducillo, and released on 50,000

East Caribbean dollar The Eastern Caribbean dollar (currency symbol, symbol: EC$; ISO 4217, code: XCD) is the currency of all seven full members and one associate member of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). The successor to the British West Indies d ...

s bail. Having pleaded not guilty, he was represented by

John Platts-Mills John Faithful Fortescue Platts-Mills, (4 October 1906 – 26 October 2001) was a British barrister and left-wing politician. He was the Labour Party Member of Parliament for Finsbury from 1945 to 1948, when he was expelled from the party effec ...

Steadroy Benjamin Sir Steadroy "Cutie" Olivero Benjamin, KGCN, is an Antiguan lawyer and politician, who is the current minister of Justice and Attorney General of Antigua and Barbuda. He previously served as Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of Antigua ...

, and David Toms, Jr.; despite this representation, he was convicted on 15 May 1995 following 45 minutes of deliberations. He was ordered to either pay a fine of 200,000 dollars or face two years in jail, and paid the fine shortly before the court closed; he continued to serve as head of ZDK. On 3 December 2024, Bird was found dead at his residence in Halcyon Heights. He was 79.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bird, Ivor 1944 births 2024 deaths Antigua and Barbuda businesspeople Antigua and Barbuda drug traffickers Ivor Children of prime ministers Antigua and Barbuda male high jumpers Commonwealth Games competitors for Antigua and Barbuda Athletes (track and field) at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games