Background
Richards was born in Berbice, British Guiana (now Guyana), the youngest of three siblings. After his mother died while he was an infant, he was raised by his father and grandmother.
Richards was born in Berbice, British Guiana (now Guyana), the youngest of three siblings. After his mother died while he was an infant, he was raised by his father and grandmother.
Collegiate School and Queen"s College, British Guiana.
He was the leader of the United Bermuda Party (UBP) between 1971 and 1973. He was a vocal critic of segregation. He also worked as associate editor of the Bermuda Recorder, and on its pages made known his opposition to segregation.
He became a Bermudian citizen seven years after his arrival.
In 1943 he went to Britain to study law at Middle Temple. While studying in London, he assisted Doctor East. F. Gordon to present a celebrated petition from the Bermuda Workers" Association to the British Colonial Secretary in 1946.
Richards was called to the United Kingdom bar in 1946 and to the Bermuda Bar on 31 January 1947, becoming the fourth black lawyer to practice in Bermuda. In 1948 he was elected to Parliament representing Warwick Parish, serving in this position for the following two decades.
In 1968, he was appointed Deputy Government Leader and Deputy Leader of the UBP. In December 1971, he became Bermuda’s first black Government Leader.
In 1973, The Constitution Amendment (Consequential Amendments) Acting 1973 changed the Government Leader’s title to Premier. Richards held the position of Premier until December 1975. Sir Edward Richards retired from politics on 29 December 1975, and from law practice in 1986, at the age of 78.
He died in May 1991 at the age of 83.
In 1940 Richards married Madree Williams, with whom he had three children.
Bermudan House of Assembly 1948-1976. Board of Health, Board of Social Welfare and numerous other boards and committees
Married Madree East. Williams in 1940.