The Tribune

By KYLE WALKINE

Tribune Staff Reporter

kwalkine@tribunemedia.net

“I BID you farewell with tremendous gratitude. God bless the Bahamas. Thank you and good evening”.

With those words before a crowd of well wishers, Sir Arthur Foulkes, the country’s eighth Governor General, last night left the post he had held for four years. 

“As I now prepare to demit office,” he said, “I hope to continue to serve, God’s willing, in the capacity that has always meant the most to me; a fellow citizen of the Bahamas.”

As he prepares to officially leave office this morning Sir Arthur thanked the many men and women who made his tenure as Governor General, the highest constitutional office in the country, a memorable one. 

His farewell speech, however, was not one of reminiscence of his four-year stay at Government House, but of hope for a bright future for the Bahamas. He praised the many bright minds, which he said has pushed the Bahamas to be the great little nation it is and urged those who now shape the future of the country to ensure generations to come are well taken care of. 

“Many of the generation now in our public and private schools will continue to exhibit the talent for which our little nation is so well known, athletic talent, artistic talent and academic talent,” he said. 

“I see in this new generation a spirit of enterprise, budding entrepreneurs.  I am confident that in the oncoming generations we will continue to be blessed with these gifts that measure way beyond our relatively small numbers. But I must keep faith. We must ensure that the Bahamas we leave for them is as good as or better than the Bahamas our forbears left for us.”

Sir Arthur also gave words of encouragement to his successor, Dame Marguerite Pindling, who will be sworn in today at noon. 

“To my successor Dame Marguerite Pindling I extend best wishes for a successful tenure and I assure her my support,” he said. “I have known this good lady for many years. During the earlier times we were collaborators in our common pursuit of political and social reform and I know of her deep love for this country.”

“It is now for me to express my immense gratitude for the extraordinary opportunity to render my humble service to our country. I thank the Rt Honourable Hubert Ingraham upon whose advice I was appointed by Her Majesty the Queen. I thank both the Rt Hon Prime Minister Perry Christie and Mr Ingraham for their support and the pleasant relationship I enjoyed with both of them during my tenure.”

The successor to Arthur Hanna, Sir Arthur was sworn in as Governor General on April 14, 2010. In 2001 he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George by Queen Elizabeth II. 

His career spanned that of journalist, having once served as news editor of The Tribune, senator, member of parliament, cabinet minister and foreign ambassador. 

Sir Arthur, in 1992, was appointed the Bahamas’ first Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China and Ambassador to the Republic of Cuba, diplomatic relationships that have blossomed since then. 

In preparation for the nation’s independence Sir Arthur became one of four delegates from the Opposition to attend the Bahamas Independence Constitution Conference in London in 1972. 

The Prime Minister hailed Sir Arthur as a national hero whose story should not be left out in the history of the Bahamas. 

“For me it’s a pleasure to proclaim that you served in this highest of constitutional offices with the utmost distinction and that your devotion for duty has been exemplary throughout your tenure. 

“It has been my view that you brought to the office of Governor General a profound sense of patriotism. Your love for country and your dedication to the Bahamian people were consistently evident in all that you did. When I define exemplary and constructive, it‘s the fact that you served with great dignity and a sense of impartiality and brought to the office a sincere recognition and a feeling of warmth for the citizens of our country irrespective of their social state and political belief.”

Opposition Leader Dr Hubert Minnis said this present generation and those to come owe Sir Arthur, and those who stood with him, a lot. 

“I remember as a boy growing up selling newspapers I had a personal relationship with him,” Dr Minnis said. “Although my brother and I and other boys were only selling the papers, Sir Arthur Foulkes made sure we read its content before we sold it. That in itself had a great impact on my life.”