Acting PM: Sir Lester’s death a loss for the region

Acting Prime Minister Santia Bradshaw has described the death of former Antigua and Barbuda prime minister Sir Lester Bird as a loss not only for the country which he led for a decade but for the wider Caribbean.

In a statement issued on Monday, after news of his death earlier in the day reached her, Bradshaw said Sir Lester’s passing “no doubt, will leave a significant void on the political landscape of that nation and the Antigua Labour Party, the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, of which he was its first chairman, and the wider CARICOM region, which he also served with honour”.

“Antigua & Barbuda has lost another of its political stalwarts, and we in Barbados grieve with you — as a family should,” she said in the message of condolence to the people and government of the CARICOM sister country.

“May his contribution to this region and its people never be forgotten and may his soul rest in peace.”

Sir Lester, 83, served as his country’s second prime minister from 1994 until 2004, but his active political career dated back to 1971.

Bradshaw noted that he carried a name that was as recognized across the Caribbean as it was in his native land, as a prominent member of the Bird family that dominated politics in Antigua and Barbuda for almost half a century.

His late father, Sir Vere Bird, was the first prime minister of the twin-island nation.

Sir Lester, who had been ailing for some time, passed away on Monday at 6 a.m.

A statement from the Office of the Prime Minister in Antigua and Barbuda said that all flags would be flown at half-mast, beginning immediately and that planning had already started for a State Funeral on a date yet to be determined.
(BT)