The Governor General
His Excellency Sir Samuel Weymouth Tapley Seaton, GCMG,CVO,QC,JP
The Governor General
The Deputy Governor General
Past Governor General
Sir Edmund Wickham Lawrence
Biography
EDUCATION
1982 -1985 Completed the BSC Management Studies Part 1 (Challenge) Degree programme with the University of the West Indies.
1975 – 1976 Completed the Post Graduate Diploma in Mass Communication at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Jamaica.
1972 Completed a programme of studies at the London Polytechnic of Management Studies, gaining the Diploma in Management of Resources – British Broadcasting Corporation.
1970 Completed the Certificate in Public Administration with the University of the West Indies.
Completed the Summer Course in Drama, at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Jamaica.
1968 Passed with Distinction O’Level Principles of Accounts with the University of London.
1963 Passed with Distinction a Course in Customs and Excise at the Regional Training School for Customs and Excise Officers in Trinidad.
1953 – 1956 Attended the Charlestown Secondary School, Nevis, and gained the Cambridge School Certificate.
1944 – 1952 Attended the Gingerland Boys School, Nevis.
EXPERIENCE
2015 Appointed Governor General’s Deputy
2000 Appointed Governor General’s Deputy
1994 – Present Deputy Governor General – St. Kitts and Nevis, with responsibility For Nevis Affairs.
1981 – 1994 Accountant General, St. Kitts and Nevis.
1972 – 1981 General Manager, ZIZ Radio and Television, St. Kitts and Nevis.
1971 – 1972 Commercial and Accounts Manager, ZIZ Radio and Television, St. Kitts and Nevis.
1969 – 1971 Administrative Assistant, Premier’s Ministry, Government Headquarters, St. Kitts.
1966 – 1969 Officer-in-/charge of the Parcel Post Section of the General Post Office, Basseterre, St. Kitts.
1964 – 1966 Examinations Officer, Customs and Excise Department, St. Kitts.
1962 – 1963 Chief Revenue Officer, Anguilla.
1961 – 1962 Social Welfare Officer, St. Kitts.
1960 – 1961 Social Welfare Officer, Nevis.
1957 – 1960 Treasury and Customs Officer, Nevis.
1957 Teacher, Charlestown Secondary School
EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
2003 Member of the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College (CFBC) Management Team.
2002 Honorary Member Lions Club of St. Kitts.
1997 – Present Member of the Appeals Committee of the St. Kitts Netball Association.
1996 – Lay Reader and Chalice Bearer in the Anglican Church.
1995 Deputy Governor General, St. Kitts/Nevis.
1991 – 1995 Vice President of the Caribbean Family Planning Affiliation Limited.
1988 – 1995 Chairman of the Fundraising Committee of the St. George’s Anglican Church, St. Kitts.
1987 – 1988 Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee of the St. Kitts Netball Association.
1986 – 1994 President of the St. Kitts and Nevis Family Planning Association.
1985 – 1994 Chairman of the Selection Committee of the St. Kitts Netball Association.
1982 – 1988 Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee of the St. Kitts Football Association.
1982 – 1983 Zone Chairman of Lions Club International.
1979 – 1984 Charter Secretary of the St. Kitts Lions Club.
1972 – 1974 Executive Member of the St. Kitts Bridge Association.
1971 – 1972 Manager of the Santos Football Team, St. Kitts.
1966 – 1968 Secretary of the St. Kitts Lawn Tennis Association.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
1964 – 1967 Secretary of the St. Kitts Civil Service Association.
1964 Formed and directed the St. Christopher Amateur Drama Group in St. Kitts.
1962 Manager of the Nevis Cricket Team in the Leeward Islands Cricket Tournament.
1961 – 1962 Secretary of the Nevis Cricket Association.
1960 – 1961 Charter Member of the Nevis Jaycees.
1959 – 1963 Captained the Knights of St. Georges Cricket Team in cup matches in Nevis.
1958 – 1963 Formed the Knights of St. Georges Cricket Club in Gingerland, Nevis.
1958 – 1962 Formed and directed two (2) drama groups in Charlestown, Nevis and Gingerland, Nevis.
1957 – 1961 Scout Master of the St. Georges Anglican Church Scout Troup, Nevis.
1956 Attended the Boys Scout 8th World Jamboree in Ontario, Canada.
1955 – 1956 Formed and became a Leader of the Charlestown Secondary School Scout Troup, Nevis.
1952 – 1961 Member of the Boys Scout Movement of the St. Georges Anglican Church Scout Troup, Nevis.
Sir Edmund Wickham Lawrence GCMG OBE
Biography
(born 14 February 1932) was sworn in as Governor General on 2 January 2013.
1951-1954 Primary school teacher
1966 Graduated from the University of London with a degree in Economics
1967-69 Lectured at Walbrook College, London
1969 Started working with the St. Kitts Industrial Bank, known as the Penny Bank.
1970 Under his direction the bank offered 500,000 shares to the public. The government opted to buy 60% of the offer and the St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank was launched.
1972 Established National Bank Trust Company 1973 established National Caribbean Insurance Company
1973 Founding member of the Standing Committee of Chief Executives of Indigenous Banks, now the Caribbean Association of Indigenous Banks
2001 Established St. Kitts-Nevis Mortgage and Investment Company served as a consultant for the establishment of the indigenous Banks in Dominica and St Vincent and the Grenadines and the National Bank of Anguilla and its subsidiaries provided independent consultancy services in banking and finance to the Caribbean Development Bank as well as to the Governments of Montserrat, Antigua and Barbuda and St. Kitts and Nevis. served on the Boards of the SKNANB Group of Companies, Cable Bay Hotel Company Limited, Digicel (St. Kitts Nevis) Limited, ECIC Holdings Limited (Chairman) and the Eastern Caribbean Amalgamated Finance Company Limited (Chairman).
He was Vice President of the Eastern Caribbean Institute of Banking, President of the Bankers’ and Financial Services Association of St. Kitts and Nevis; Treasurer of the Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park Society and Past Assistant District Governor, Rotary District 7030.
2009 Awarded the National Honour as Companion of the Star of Merit (CSM)
2010 Knight Commander of the most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George (KCMG)
2013 appointed Knight Grand Cross of the most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George (GCMG).
Sir Edmund is married to Lady Hulda and they have six children.
Sir Cuthbert Montraville Sebastian
Biography
Born: 22 October 1921
Parents: James Matthew and Inez Sebastian
Education:
Basseterre Boys Elementary School
1936-39 Pupil Teacher at Basseterre Boys Elementary School
1950-53 B.Sc at Mount Alison University, Canada
1953-58 Medicine at Dalhousie University. Licensed by the Medical Boards of Canada and of Nova Scotia
1962-66 Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Dundee Royal Infirmary, Scotland
Career:
1939 Learner dispenser at Cunningham Hospital
1943 Qualified and licensed as chemist and druggist
1944 Laboratory technician
1945 Senior Dispenser and Steward Cunningham Hospital
1958 Joined government medical service in St. Kitts as a general practitioner
1966 Medical Superintendent and Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at the Cunningham hospital in St. Kitts
1970 Chief Medical Officer
1980 In private practice
Military:
1939 Joined St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force
1943 Promoted to Medical Sergeant
1944 Joined HM Royal Air Force and trained as rear gunner during the Second World War
1958 Captain Surgeon of the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force
1962-66 Voluntary attachment to the Scottish Army with the rank of Captain.
1966-80 Re-appointed Captain Surgeon of the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force
Other:
Early 1960s serving brother of the St. John’s Ambulance Association, later local Chairman
1970 Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
1973 Local physician to HRH Prince of Wales during his visit to St. Kitts
1977 ADC and Personal physician to Premier of St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla during his visit to Buckingham Palace
1984 Contested general election as a candidate for the St. Kitts Labour Party
1996 Governor General of St. Kitts-Nevis and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George
1998 Honorary degree from Dalhousie University
2002 Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS) of Edinburgh in Scotland, for outstanding career and service to humanity in the field of medicine.
2005 Honorary Doctorate from Mount Allison University
Sir Clement Athelston Arrindell
Biography
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Sir Clement Athelston Arrindell, G.C.M.G., G.C.V.O., Q.C., was born in Basseterre, St. Kitts & Nevis on 16th April, 1931. He was the son of George Ernest Arrindell and Hilda Iona Arrindell, deceased (1975). He was educated at Bradley Private School, then at Basseterre Boys Elementary School, where he was head student in his final year, heading a slate of four scholarship winners from the Elementary School. He entered the St. Kitts & Nevis Grammar School, where he consistently topped his classes.
He graduated in his final year as top Scholar, not only of this particular School, but also of all other graduates in the other Secondary Schools throughout the colony of St. Kitts & Nevis‐Anguilla as it then was, narrowly missing the Leeward Island Scholarship, won that year by Montserrat.
In 1950, he entered the Treasury Department of the Civil Service, and at the end of 1954 he left for studies in England. In April 1956, he entered Lincoln’s Inn, London, and was called to the Bar in June 1958 after setting a record for completion of the Bar Finals. Following Postgraduate Studies, he returned to St Kitts & Nevis in December 1958.
His career spanned the following: Private Practice as a Barrister‐at‐Law and Solicitor (1959‐1966); Acting Magistrate (1964‐1966), Magistrate (1967‐1972), Senior Magistrate (1972‐June 1978) (serving both at home in St Kitts and in the Territory of the Virgin Islands); Puisne Judge of the West Indies Associated States Supreme Court (July 1978‐November 1981). He was appointed Governor, St. Kitts & Nevis November 1981, and Governor General at Independence, on 19th September 1983, thus making him the last Governor of the Colony of St. Kitts & Nevis and the first Governor General of the newly independent Nation. He was first knighted in 1982. He married Evelyn Eugenia O’Loughlyn, a prominent music teacher and church organist of Basseterre, in 1967.
Sir Clement retired from active public life in 1996. His hobbies included gardening and piano playing … he had a passion for classical music.
Born: 19th April 1931
Parents: George and Hilda Arrindell
Education: Private School and Basseterre Boys School
1944-49 St. Kitts Grammar School
1956 Admitted to Lincoln’s Inn, London
1958 Barrister at Law, called to the Bar in England and in St. Kitts
Career:
1949-56 Civil servant
1958-64 Private legal practice
1964-66 Acting Magistrate
1966-78 Magistrate
1978-80 Acting Puisne Judge of the West Indies Associated State in Montserrat, with additional responsibilities for the British Virgin Island
1980-1981 Puisne Judge
1981 Governor of the State of St. Kitts and Nevis
1983 Received Knighthood from HM Queen Elizabeth II
1996 Retirement
Sir Probyn Ellsworth-Innis
Biography
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Sir Probyn Innis as born in St. Kitts where he received his primary and secondary education. After graduating from the University of the West Indies in 1961, he taught at the St. Kitts-Nevis Grammar School for some years.
He later read law at the Inns of Court School of Law in London and was called to the Bar at the Middle Temple. He had a distinguished career in the public service of St. Kitts-Nevis culminating in his appointment as Governor in 1975. Since leaving the office in 1981, he has been in private law practice. Sir Probyn remains active in youth and community affairs
Sir Milton Pensonville Allen
Biography
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Milton Pentonville Allen was born at Palmetto Point on the 22nd June 1888. He was the son of Daniel Allen a stone mason of Challengers and Henrietta Garvey. He received his early education at the Methodist school in his village. Although he had academic potential, young Milton preferred a trade to teaching, much to the disappointment of his teacher Miss Geraldine Locker.
In New York
Young Milton was soon apprenticed to a tailor in Basseterre and then emigrated in search of a better future. In the United States he took his trade seriously and graduated with a diploma from the David Mitchell’s Cutting and Designing School. While in New York he kept an eye on developments at home and was inspired at the thought of an organization that would promote workers’ rights. In a letter to the editor of the Union Messenger, published on the 31st December 1931, he wrote,
The time has come and devolves most imperatively upon the inhabitants to join forces in defence of those rights. Of course it is understood that the larger your organization the greater will be your financial obligations. But you would be within your rights to call upon West Indians abroad to assist in this arduous, but righteous effort.
True to his word, Allen became part of a concerned group of Kittitians who sent financial assistance to the Workers’ League after it was founded. Following the Labour disturbances of 1935 they sent support which made it possible for the League to assist those accused of rioting to obtain legal representation. That year after more than twenty five years in the United States, Allen returned in St. Kitts and was resident in Sandy Point. He showed himself to be an ardent supporter of Thomas Manchester and even appeared as a speaker on the League’s platform.
In 1937 he married Annie Locker, Head Teacher at the Sandy Point Girls’ School and the couple moved to New York. When she returned to her post, he supported the school’s extra-curricular activities by sending her much needed sheet music. He wrote poetry and even published a collection of poems one of which was set to music for choir by Dr. Leon Forrester, a musical examiner of the Royal College of Music in London, England. From time to time he contributed items to The Union Messenger often expressing concerns regarding the well-being of workers. When he finally retired and returned to St. Kitts in the 1950s his connection he became associate editor of the Workers’ Weekly and the Union Messenger and later editor of the Labour Spokesman.
In the Legislature
A quiet unassuming man, Allen also had a strong sense of dignity and decorum. He was a member of the Legislative Council from 1958 to 1962 and served as minister without portfolio. That year saw the dissolution of the West Indies Federation and the return of Robert Bradshaw to St. Kitts. Allen resigned his seat so that Bradshaw could return to the Legislative Council. On the 27th August 1966, he was appointed Speaker of the House of Assembly.
Governor
In 1969, Milton Allen became the first Kittitian of African descent to be appointed Governor of the Associated State of St. Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla, a post he continued to hold till his retirement in 1975. He performed the duties of his post with honour and integrity. He also fulfilled the duties of Chief Scout, Patron of the St. John’s Ambulance Brigade, Member of the Conservation Society for Historic Sites, Honorary life member of the Rotary Club and remained a member of the Methodist Church.
Sir Milton Allen died at the J. N. France General Hospital on the 17th September 1981.
Sir Frederick Albert Phillips
Biography
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Sir Fred Phillips, Governor of St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla 1967-1969