Background
Lynden Pindling was born on 30 March 1930 in Nassau. He was the son of a local merchant.
Lynden Pindling was born on 30 March 1930 in Nassau. He was the son of a local merchant.
He attended local schools before enrolling at London University.
He was called to the bar in 1953, and that same year joined the newly formed Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) in the Bahamas. Three years later, in the new party’s first electoral effort, the PLP won six seats in the House of Assembly, and Pindling was soon chosen parliamentary leader of the PLP. He served as Leader of the Opposition in the House from 1964 to 1967.
The PLP carried out a stunning electoral “revolution” over the white “establishment” in January 1967. The islands' black voters turned out in record numbers, forcing a tie between the United Bahamian Party (UBP) and PLP, each winning 18 seats. The stalemate was broken when a black, Randol Fawkes, the sole elected candidate of the Labour Party, and independent Alvin Braynen. joined forces with the PLP. permitting Lynden Pindling to form a government and become premier.
In 1963 and 1968 Pindling participated in constitutional conferences in London, promoting self-government for the Bahamas. In 1968 he served as chairman of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. Following independence for the Bahamas in 1973, Pindling became prime minister.
Pindling and the PLP won an additional five years in office in general elections in June 1982, but with a reduced electoral margin. In spite of widespread drug and corruption charges, Pindling and his party won reelection early in 1987.