Vere Cornwall Bird Sr.

Education

Educated, St. John's Boys' School educated, Salvation Army Training School, Trinidad.

Career

Served with Salvation Army, Grenada founding member Executive Board, Antigua Trades and Labor Union, 1939; president, Antigua Trades and Labor Union, 1943-1967; elected member, Legislation Council Antigua, 1945; member executive county, Legislation Council Antigua, 1951; also chairman committees, Legislation Council Antigua, 1956; elected to Parliament, since 1981; minister trade and production, Antigua, 1956-1960; chief minister of Antigua, 1960-1967; led delegate to United Kingdom that achieved associate statehood for Antigua, 1966; premier of Antigua, 1967-1971, 76-81; led delegate that gained full Antiguan independence from Great Britain, 1980; prime minister of independent Antigua and Barbuda, 1981-1994; minister of planning, external affairs, defense and energy, 1981-1982; minister of finance, 1982-1984; minister of defense and information, 1984-1994; retired, 1994. Participant Caribbean Union Confs., Trinidad, 1945, St. Kitts, 1946, Jamaica, 1947, West Indian Government Confs., London, 1953, 56. Founder (with representatives from Barbados and Guyana) Caribbean Free Trade Association, 1965;leader Antigua Labor Party.

Achievements

• Vere Cornwall Bird Senior has been listed as a noteworthy Prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda by Marquis Who's Who.