Former attorney general Paul Adderley has been appointed the Acting Governor General of The Bahamas, succeeding Dame Ivy Dumont who demits office today.
The Cabinet Office confirmed in a press statement issued yesterday that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II had assented to his appointment.
Meantime, both houses of parliament are scheduled to hold a joint sitting in the Senate today at 11am as a State Ceremony of farewell to Dame Ivy.
While Mr. Adderley has served as Deputy to the Governor General on numerous occasions when Dame Ivy was out of the country, his appointment as Acting Governor General indicates that he may only be holding the post for a short time.
Dame Ivy, the sixth governor general in an independent Bahamas, was appointed to the post on January 1, 2002, becoming the first female governor general of The Bahamas.
However she assumed office as acting governor general on November 13, 2001, in succession to Sir Orville Turnquest. Dame Ivy was one of three women in the Cabinet of the Free National Movement government, led by Hubert Ingraham.
One of Dame Ivy’s last official duties was be to swear in Free National Movement leader Mr. Ingraham as leader of the official opposition, on Monday afternoon.
Mr. Adderley also serves as the co-chairman of the Constitutional Commission, appointed by Mr. Christie on December 23, 2002 to carry out a comprehensive review of The Bahamas’ Constitution and to consider the method of amending the current Constitution or adopting a new one.
Mr. Adderley, 77, was the first Attorney General of an independent Bahamas and one of the longest serving attorneys general in the history of the country, serving from July 10, 1973 to January 18, 1989.
He was first elected to parliament in 1962, but left the PLP in 1965 and formed his own political organisation, the National Democratic Party. He rejoined the PLP in 1972 and was appointed government leader in the Senate. He re-entered the House of Assembly as the MP for the Carmichael constituency in 1977.
Mr. Adderley has also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Education, Minister of National Security and Minister of Finance.
He retired from frontline politics prior to the 1997 general election.
Source: The Bahama Journal
