Sir Maurice King, former DLP AG, diplomat, dies at 85; hailed as ‘knight exemplar’

Sir Maurice King QC, the former Attorney General, foreign minister and diplomat in several Democratic Labour Party administrations has died at the age of 85.

An eloquent speaker with a baritone voice and erudite manner, Sir Maurice’s largely unblemished political and legal career was marked once by controversy when as attorney general in the late 1980s he sought to assure a restive public there were no gangs in Barbados amid an upsurge in crime and violence.

The DLP said in a statement that Sir Maurice was characterised during his public life by his calm and dignified demeanour, which he maintained even during the turbulent 1990s as the country’s Attorney General.

The party said: “His was a life of selfless service to country and party. His is the example those of us offering ourselves to public service are encouraged to emulate.”

In its tribute, the DLP also expressed gratitude for his service to the nation as a “hero and a knight exemplar”.

The scion of a legal and political family, son of prominent attorney Sir James Cliviston King and sibling of lawyer Edmund King, Sir Maurice’s public service stretches back to 1964 as chairman of the Natural Gas Corporation, now known as the National Petroleum Corporation, from 1964 to 1976.

He was one of the country’s first senators in newly-independent Barbados from 1967 to 1975.

Sir Maurice was ambassador to the United States and permanent representative to the Organisation of American States and the United States in 1976.

Elected to three terms in the House of Assembly as Member of Parliament for Christ Church West Central from 1981 to 1994, he was made Attorney General in Errol Barrow’s cabinet in 1986.

Under the Erskine Sandiford administration, he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and International Business from 1989 to 1993.

The Queen’s Counsel was the DLP’s long-time lawyer.

Sir Maurice was knighted in 2009.

The DLP said: “To his grieving family we say thank you for your own sacrifice in loaning him to us. We too feel his loss acutely, but not as deeply as you. We are forever grateful for his steady leadership and guidance at a most critical juncture in this country’s history. Truly a hero, and a knight exemplar.”
(BT)