The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

LONG time Freeport resident and wealthy Danish investor Erik Christiansen died on Saturday after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 81.

Mr Christiansen had a successful career in real estate, oil and gas and financial services before he retired and came in 1993 to live in the Bahamas, where he also was involved in several significant investments in Grand Bahama.

He became a permanent resident, but found that he was unable to retire and became interested in being part of the economic resurgence that was taking place in Grand Bahama.

With fellow Dane, the late Arne Petersen, owner of the Taino Beach Resort timeshare property, Mr Christiansen purchased and developed the Lucayan Marina Village (now Grand Bahama Yacht Club) as well as the Pelican Bay Hotel.

In 2006, he sold his interest in both and spent a short time as Chairman of the Port Group Ltd in Grand Bahama.

Mr Christiansen was also a founding member of the Lucaya International School Foundation that created the Lucaya International School (LIS).  He insisted that scholarships be provided to Bahamian students and, since its inception, LIS has provided over $4m in provisions to Grand Bahamian students.

Former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, who visited Mr Christiansen in hospital, extended condolences to his family, including his wife, Maria, daughter Gitte, and son-in-law, Jim Goodrum, in Freeport.

“I was saddened to learn that Erik Christensen had passed away over the past weekend,” said Mr Ingraham. “I accept, however, that he has been ill for some time and know that he is now freed from his suffering,” he said.

“I was fortunate to have the opportunity to visit with Erik at his Sunrise Hospital bed a week ago today and am happy that he was well enough to recognise me.  We exchanged a few words. Erik was a great friend to Grand Bahama and to The Bahamas generally. I remember how important his decision to invest in Grand Bahama in the early days of my first administration was to my government.

“Mr Christiansen was a major investor in Freeport. His pride and joy in Freeport was the construction and development of Pelican Bay, which has been a great success and the Lucaya International School. He was always pleased to talk of his success in Grand Bahama and to lend his voice to ours as we promoted the Bahamas as a desirable place in which to invest and live.”

Grand Bahama resident and LIS board member, Simon Lewis, said: “Erik had a real passion for Freeport, there is no question about it … and although he sold his interest in the marina after Mr Petersen’s death to Mr Olsen, he wanted to see that project get off the ground and was still saddened that the property did not get up to expectation.

“He was concerned about GB to the point that he even accepted a position in GBPA … for a while – it tells you the extent of his desire and love for Freeport – and he went out and created LIS, which is the first of its kind on GB, and again it showed his love for this country.”

Mr Lewis, who was in Bimini at the time attending his brother’s funeral, said he was upset on learning of Mr Christiansen’s passing. 

“We would sit and talk many hours about Grand Bahama and he admired Mr Ingraham greatly. Erik was someone who migrated to GB, and fell in love with the island and had a passion for GB like individuals such as the late Edward St George, former chairman of the Grand Bahama Port Authority. He did not just come here and sat down and invested, he loved the people too,” he said.

Prior to living in The Bahamas, Mr Christiansen started his own structural engineering firm in Holland in 1960, and grew that firm to include several offices in Holland as well as the Middle East. In the early 1970s he became a member of the Executive Board of Pakhoed Holding (now Vopak). In that position, he had special responsibility for their real estate division which, at the time, was the largest real estate firm in The Netherlands.

He founded another firm, Hexalon, which he directed to become one of the largest real estate investment firms in North America. He also created and was a 50 per cent partner in Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM) hotel management company, where he was chairman. Mr Christiansen also founded Elaion NV, an oil and gas investment company, in 1981. In 1984, he created Compagnie Financiere du Benelux in Brussels, a privately held group managing real estate assets of more than $4bn.

Mr Christiansen also had an adventurous side. He drove his vintage 1965 Rolls Royce from Peking, China, to Paris, France – approximately 10,000 miles – via a route through Tibet, Nepal and India to Europe. He also sailed his 55-foot boat across the Atlantic single-handed. He enjoyed fly-fishing and history.

Mr Christiansen will be cremated. He is survived by his wife, his son, Jorgen Christiansen of Plano, Texas, daughter Gitte Goodrum who also resides in Freeport, and daughter Annette Paradis Semdahl, of Copenhagen, Denmark. 

Grandchildren include Niels and Natalie Christiansen of Plano, Texas; Conner, Andrew and Trevor Goodrum, of Freeport; Nicklas Paradis and Christian Paradis of Karlshamm, Sweden, and Caecelia Paradis, of Gdansk, Poland.