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The Peoples Labour Party, has learnt of the passing of His Excellency Rt. Hon Sir. Lester Bird KHN. He was the former Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda and former Political Leader of the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party.

Sir Lester is accredited with the modernization and diversification of the Antiguan economy, which was at a time the leader in Tourism from the early 1980’s, while he served as Minister of Tourism and then as Deputy Prime Minister. It was also during his leadership as Prime Minister that he further diversified that economy with the development and advancement of the financial and offshore sector.

He was known to be a strong proponent of Caribbean Integration and Regionalism. He was a signatory to the Treaty of Basseterre which further established and strengthened ties between member states of the Organisation of the Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) sub region.

He served his people in the House of Parliament for forty-seven (47) years in the Upper House (Senate) and then the Lower House of Parliament. He then served in the Cabinet, and after which he became the second (2nd) Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda serving from 1994 – 2004. In 2014, he was conferred with and named Knight Companion of the Order of The National Hero. The Caribbean has lost another one of its luminaries, whose leadership will leave an indelible mark on the life and soul of the people of Antigua and Barbuda.

It is in this light that Prime Minister and Political Leader of the PLP, Dr. Hon. Timothy S. Harris, convey on behalf of the Government and People of St. Kitts and Nevis and the Peoples Labour Party, deepest sympathies to the Government and People of Antigua and Barbuda, to the leadership and membership of the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party and to his family and well-wishers.

May his soul rest in eternal peace.