Sir Robin Yearwood KGCN (b. 1 September 1944) is an Antiguan politician and member of the Antigua Labour Party (ALP). Entering Parliament in 1976, Yearwood served as Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries in the ALP administration until a cabinet reshuffle in 1987 saw him take over Vere Bird, Jr.'s portfolio for Aviation, Public Information and Public Utilities. Despite a failed attempt to oust the Prime Minister he retained this position, and kept it when he became

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 ...

on 9 September 2002 and

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 ...

a year later. Following the ALP's loss in the 2004 election, Yearwood was one of only three ALP members left in the lower house, and became

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 ...

. He held this position until 2006, when he was replaced with

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 ...

Early career

Yearwood was born on 1 September 1944. He was first elected to Parliament in 1976, for the seat of St. Phillips North, which he still holds. He entered Cabinet-level politics on 29 May 1980, when he was appointed Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries in the ALP government 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 ...

. He retained this position after the 1984 election, and in 1986 led the construction of a new agricultural research laboratory, using equipment donated by

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

under a 1983 economic and technical cooperation pact. A cabinet reshuffle on 1 January 1987 saw Yearwood replace Vere Bird, Jr., the Prime Minister's son, as Minister of Aviation, Public Information and Public Utilities, ceding his Agriculture portfolio to Hilroy Humphreys. This followed controversy over Bird's construction of a new airport, which the opposition charged was "grossly inflated" in cost; retired Grenadian judge Sir Archibald Nedd was appointed to investigate the project and look for signs of wrongdoing. This scandal threatened to topple the government, with eight ministers, including the Deputy Prime Minister, arguing that Vere Bird should have his son fired. Retaining his seat in the 1989 election, seeing off a challenge from Junie de Shalto, he remained Minister of Aviation. Following the 1991 budget proposal, described by members of the opposition as "illegal and unconstitutional", Yearwood was one of seven ALP Ministers to call for the Prime Minister's resignation; despite the failure of this campaign, he retained his position in the Cabinet. As Aviation Minister, Yearwood spearheaded a $2.8 million grant to

LIAT LIAT 2020 Limited, operating as LIAT20, or simply LIAT, is an airline of Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda is a Sovereign state, sovereign archipelagic country composed of Antigua, Barbuda, and List of islands of Antigua and Barbuda ...

airline in an attempt to boost its recovery: a $1.4 million bank overdraft and a $1.4 million government loan.

Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition

On 9 September 2002, Yearwood was appointed Deputy Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda by

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 ...

in a reorganisation of the government aimed at tackling a series of corruption scandals; he retained his Aviation, Public Information and Public Utilities portfolio. He announced that his focus would be on rebuilding Antigua's economy, switching from a reliance on the failing banana industry to a focus on tourism. Following the resignation of five government members in protest at Bird's leadership, Bird he announced he was reshuffling the Cabinet, and handed Yearwood the position of

. As Minister of Finance, Yearwood attended the 2003

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

conference as the Antiguan delegate, and also met the Inter-American Economic Council's delegation when it visited Antigua in January 2004. The ALP lost their majority in the 2004 general election, and the

United Progressive Party The United Progressive Party is a political party in Antigua and Barbuda. It was previously led by Baldwin Spencer, it was the governing party from 2004 to 2014. It has been in opposition since the 2014 election. Jamale Pringle was elected lea ...

(UPP) under Baldwin Spencer took 14 of the 17 seats in Parliament. Yearwood, as one of the few remaining ALP Parliamentarians, became

. Appointed Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Yearwood strongly criticised the UPP budget, which was later approved. In 2005 he, Lester Bird and Hugh Marshall, Sr. were charged with an illegal land sale while in government, with the UPP administration alleging that government property had been sold to a company owned by the three at below-market value. In 2006, following a letter from three ALP Parliamentarians accusing him of "fuelling division within the party", Yearwood was removed as Leader of the Opposition and replaced by

. Despite this fall from grace he remains in Parliament, seeing off a challenge from Elmore Charles to retain his seat in the 2009 election. Yearwood was elected again 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 ...

in the 2023 general elections for the St Philip North Constituency. Antigua.news

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yearwood, Robin Living people Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party politicians Deputy prime ministers of Antigua and Barbuda Finance ministers of Antigua and Barbuda Government ministers of Antigua and Barbuda 1940s births Members of the 16th legislature of Antigua and Barbuda Members of the 15th legislature of Antigua and Barbuda Members of the 14th legislature of Antigua and Barbuda Year of birth missing (living people)