The Tribune

A STATE funeral will be held on Thursday at Christ Church Cathedral for former Governor General and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Dion Hanna.

A statement from the Cabinet Office yesterday also announced Mr Hanna’s body will lie-in-state in the foyer of the House of Assembly today.

The general public will be allowed to view his body from 1pm to 5pm and from 9am to 5pm on Wednesday.

A period of mourning will commence at sunrise today until sunset on Thursday. During this time, the national flag will be flown at half-mast throughout the country.

The funeral at Christ Church Cathedral on George Street will be by invitation only, and in accordance with the COVID-19 emergency orders, 2020, and the Bahamas Christian Council’s social distancing protocols, as it relates to church services and seating capacity.

People invited to the service are asked to be seated by 10.45am.

Mr Hanna, the ardent progressive whose faith in Bahamians helped push the country toward independence and sparked the Bahamianisation policy that defined an era, died at home on August 3 at 93.

He was Deputy Prime Minister from 1967 to 1984 and held a variety of ministerial portfolios during his time in office, including the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance with responsibility for public service, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Home Affairs with responsibility for immigration.

He was Governor General from 2006 to 2010.