Former Prime Minister and National Hero of Antigua and Barbuda has died. This sad event too place this morning.
Lester Bryant Bird (born 21 February 1938) was the second Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda from 1994 to 2004.
Lester Bryant Bird was born in New York City on 21 February 1938. He is the son of Sir Vere Cornwall Bird, the first Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda after independence, Lester Bryant Bird was educated at Antigua Grammar School, the University of Michigan, and Gray’s Inn, London. Between 1969 and 1976 Bird was a lawyer in private practice.
In 1971 Bird became the chairman of the Antigua Labour Party (ALP), which had been formed by his father in 1946, and entered the Senate as Leader of the Opposition. In 1976 Bird was elected as an MP, and between 1976 and 1991 served as both Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development, Tourism, and Energy. Between 1981 (when Antigua achieved full independence from the United Kingdom) and 1991 he also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in his father’s government.
In 1991 he became Minister of External Affairs, Planning, and Trade, and in the general election of March 1994 he was elected Prime Minister, succeeding his father who had retired the previous December.
In March 2004 the ALP was defeated by the United Progressive Party (UPP), with Bird losing his seat in the House of Representatives to Errol Cort. In the election of 2009 he regained his seat.
Bird successfully retained his seat for the Gaston Browne led Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party in the 12 June 2014 election and was appointed to the Cabinet as Senior Minister.
On 3 November 2014, Bird was named Knight of the Most Exalted Order of National Hero (KNH), Antigua & Barbuda’s highest honour, for his contribution to national development as an outstanding sportsman, lawyer and parliamentarian for 38 years.
We extend our condolence to the Bird family and to the Nation of Antigua and Barbuda.
