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 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 ...

from 1994 to 2004. He was chairman of the Antigua Labour Party (ALP) from 1971 to 1983, then became prime minister when his father, Sir Vere Bird, the previous prime minister, resigned.

Early life and education

Bird was born in New York City on February 21, 1938.Roger East and Richard Thomas,
Profiles of people in power: the world's government leaders
(2003). Psychology Press, pp. 16-17. Lester and his elder brother Vere Bird Jr., also a British-educated lawyer, were considered sometime rivals, with ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' writing in 1990 that Lester had always overshadowed his brother, according to those who have known them both.Howard W. French,
Island's Hushed Scandals, Unhushed
, ''The New York Times'', 16 June 1990.Robert Glass, "Caribbean Island Focus of International Arms Scandal", Associated Press, 14 May 1990. He was educated at Antigua Grammar School and was brought up as a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

. Bird was a

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er in his youth, playing for the

Leeward Islands The Leeward Islands () are a group of islands situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean. Starting with the Virgin Islands east of Puerto Rico, they extend southeast to Guadeloupe and its dependencies. In Engl ...

, and a

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

champion. He won a bronze medal in the long jump at the

1959 Pan American Games The 1959 Pan American Games, officially known as the III Pan American Games and commonly known as Chicago 1959, were held in Chicago, Illinois, United States between August 28 and September 7, 1959. Host city selection One city initially su ...

in Chicago while representing the

British West Indies The British West Indies (BWI) were the territories in the West Indies under British Empire, British rule, including Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Antigua and Barb ...

. He attended the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, where he was

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

long jumper in 1960 and graduated in 1962. Bird completed his study of law in Britain 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 ...

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

in 1969. From 1969 to 1976, Bird engaged in private practice in Antigua.

Political career

Bird's political career began in 1971, when he was nominated 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 ...

. The frequently-dominant Antigua Labour Party was in opposition for a five-year period. Bird was named chairman of the ALP and the

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 ...

in the Senate. Lester continued to serve as leader of the opposition until he was elected to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

at the 1976 elections, when the ALP returned to power. Bird joined his father's government as Deputy Premier. In addition to serving 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 ...

, Bird also served as Minister of Economic Development, Tourism, and Energy. Bird's tenure as Minister of Tourism and Minister of Economic Development was controversial, and he personally benefited from tourism partnerships with foreign investors, including in the construction of the Royal Antiguan Hotel. Following independence in 1981, Bird gained the external affairs portfolio and was the first chairman of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States in 1982. He was chairman of OECS for a second time in 1989. The ALP government and Bird himself won re-election in 1994 and

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

. These elections, as well as the 1989 elections, were highly controversial; the 1989 elections were "marred by irregularities and fraud" and charges made by the opposition, described as credible by

Freedom House Freedom House is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. It is best known for political advocacy surrounding issues of democracy, Freedom (political), political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, wi ...

, that the ALP used bribery and intimidation and exerted undue influence over the elections supervisor.

, ''Freedom in the World: The Annual Survey of Political Rights & Civil Liberties, 1993–1994'' (1994). University Press of America, pp. 117–119. The 1999 election was deemed neither free nor fair in an independent report which concluded that the opposition United Progressive Party (UPP) "conceivably could have won a majority of seats in parliament" if the election had been fair. The ALP had been divided by a succession crisis between Lester Bird and Vere Bird Jr., since 1989. Lester Bird lost his deputy prime minister post in 1991, but retained the external affairs ministry and the planning and trade portfolio. Sir Vere Bird was initially thought to have favoured Vere Jr. until an arms scandal in which the elder son had been found to have been involved in the smuggling of weapons from Antigua to the Colombian

Medellín Cartel The Medellín Cartel () was a powerful and highly organized Colombian drug cartel and terrorist organization originating in the city of Medellín, Colombia, that was founded and led by Pablo Escobar. It is often considered to be the first major ...

. Vere Bird Jr., then Minister of Public Works, was dismissed from office and an inquiry, led by Sir Louis Blom-Cooper, Q.C., recommended that he never be allowed to hold office again (although he subsequently did return to office), boosting Lester Bird's chances to follow his father in the prime ministership and reducing pressure for Vere Bird to step down. In 1992, another scandal, involving Sir Vere Bird's siphoning of public funds into a personal account, furthered calls for him to step down, with three opposition parties uniting to form the UPP under the leadership of Baldwin Spencer. Following a successful

general strike A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...

called by the UPP, Sir Vere announced in March 1992 he would step down at the 1994 general elections. The ALP succession crisis continued following this, with a special convention to elect a successor on 24 May 1992 resulting in a deadlock between Lester Bird and John St. Luce, the information minister. The ALP leadership question was finally settled at the party's September 1993 convention, at which Lester won the leadership of the party, defeating St Luce, 169 votes to 131. The party post of ALP chairman went to Vere Jr. In the March 1994 elections, the ALP under Bird's leadership won 11 out of 17 seats even as the opposition criticized the ALP over corruption issues. During the election the ALP pledged

open government Open government is the governing doctrine which maintains that citizens have the right to access the documents and proceedings of the government to allow for effective public oversight. In its broadest construction, it opposes reason of state a ...

, an

ombudsman An ombudsman ( , also ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...

to deal with citizen complaints, and new jobs, especially in

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

. Bird assumed the prime ministership on 9 March 1994. He appointed St. Luce (but not his brother Vere Jr.) to the cabinet. (Vere Jr. was subsequently named special adviser). Lester Bird took the portfolios for external affairs, planning,

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

, and information for himself, and in a 1996

cabinet reshuffle A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet, or when the head of state changes the head of government and a number of ministers. They are more common in parliam ...

also took the communications,

civil aviation Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying, representing all non-military and non-state aviation, which can be both private and commercial. Most countries in the world are members of the International Civil Aviation Organization and ...

, international transport, and

gaming Gaming may refer to: Games and sports The act of playing games, as in: * Legalized gambling, playing games of chance for money, often referred to in law as "gaming" * Playing a role-playing game, in which players assume fictional roles * Playing ...

portfolios. In the 1999 elections, the ALP increased its parliamentary majority by one seat, holding 12 seats. Bird was reconfirmed as prime minister and elevated Vere Jr. to the cabinet as minister of agriculture, marking his full

political rehabilitation Political rehabilitation is the process by which a disgraced member of a political party or a government is restored to public respectability and thus political acceptability. The term is usually applied to leaders or other prominent individuals ...

. Bird also shuffled his own portfolios and by December 2002 held the

foreign affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...

finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

, legal affairs, justice, and

national security National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and Defence (military), defence of a sovereign state, including its Citizenship, citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of ...

ministries in addition to being the prime minister. In the March 2004 election, the ALP was defeated by the United Progressive Party (UPP) led by Baldwin Spencer. Bird's party lost eight seats, and he himself was defeated by Errol Cort, who became

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

in the new UPP government. Bird remained the ALP's political leader following the party's 2004 defeat. He led the party in the March 2009 election; although the ALP lost the election, it gained 3 seats from the UPP and Bird defeated Cort by 96 votes in the St John's Rural East constituency, where he had lost in 2004. He subsequently held the position of Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Bird was succeeded as ALP leader by

Gaston Browne Gaston Alphonso Browne (born 9 February 1967) is an Antiguan politician serving as the prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda and leader of the Labour Party since 2014. Before entering politics, he was a banker and businessman. Early life Brown ...

in December 2012, who led the party to victory in June 2014 general election. Bird won a seat and again defeated Errol Cort. In 2014, he was made a Knight of the Order of the National Hero (KNH) by Antigua and Barbuda.

Death

Bird died at the age of 83 on 9 August 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bird, Lester 1938 births 2021 deaths American emigrants to Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party politicians Antigua and Barbuda male long jumpers Athletes (track and field) at the 1959 Pan American Games Attorneys general of Antigua and Barbuda

Lester Lester is an ancient Anglo-Saxon surname and given name. People Given name * Lester Bangs (1948–1982), American music critic * Lester Oliver Bankhead (1912–1997), American architect * Lester W. Bentley (1908–1972), American artist from ...

Children of prime ministers Deputy prime ministers of Antigua and Barbuda Finance ministers of Antigua and Barbuda Foreign ministers of Antigua and Barbuda Leaders of political parties Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games Members of Gray's Inn Members of the Senate (Antigua and Barbuda) Michigan Wolverines men's track and field athletes Pan American Games bronze medalists for the British West Indies Pan American Games bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Politicians from New York City Prime ministers of Antigua and Barbuda Recipients of the Order of the National Hero (Antigua and Barbuda) Sportsperson-politicians Track and field athletes from New York City Members of the 14th legislature of Antigua and Barbuda

Early life and education

Political career

Death

See also

References