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Basseterre, St.Kitts (September 1st 2015):- Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Second acting on the advice of the Prime Minister, Dr the Hon Timothy Harris, has appointed Mr Samuel Weymouth Tapley Seaton, C.V.O., Q.C., J.P. as Governor General of Saint Christopher and Nevis with effect from the 1^st day of September, 2015.

His Excellency Mr Seaton has served as Acting Governor General since May 14, 2015.

His Excellency took the relevant oaths today administered by Her Ladyship Justice Marlene Carter at Government House.  The brief ceremony was witnessed by Dr the Hon Timothy Harris, Prime Minister, Hon Vincent Byron, Attorney General, Senator Wendy Phipps, Mrs Josephine Huggins, Cabinet Secretary, Marguerite Foreman (sister of the Governor General), Mrs Janine Harris-Lake, Registrar of the High Court, and staff in the office of the Governor General.

QC Seaton has had a long and distinguished career of service to the people of the federation of St.Kitts-Nevis and is credited as being one of the Architects of our Constitution

The Noted Attorney received his primary and secondary education at the Epworth Junior School, the Basseterre High School, and the St. Kitts-Nevis Grammar School. His tertiary studies at the University of the West Indies resulted in his earning a Bachelor of Laws Degree with Upper Second Class Honours – a sound footing for what was to become an illustrious career in the legal profession.

Among his major career feats are the following: (A) Crown Counsel, Attorney General’s Chambers and Acting High Court Registrar (1975-1980); (B) St. Kitts-Nevis Attorney General (1980-1995); and (C) Appointment as one of Her Majesty’s Counsels (Queen’s Counsel) in 1988. He also has the distinction of being named Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in 1985.

The Past Preseident of the OECS Bar Association Mr. Seaton has served on a plethora of various Boards, National Committees and Organisations. Some of these include Director of SSMC, the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, and Frigate Bay Development Corporation; President of the St. Christopher Heritage Society (now The St. Christopher National Trust), the St. Kitts-Nevis Bar Association and the OECS Bar Association; and Vice President for the Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park Society. During the period 1985-1995 he also served as Chairman of Cable & Wireless (formerly SKANTEL).

Mr Seaton also possesses a keen acumen for legislative drafting. To his credit are such works as Income Tax Amendments for St. Lucia; the 2001 Securities Act; Aliens’ Landholding Regulation Acts in nine (9) ECCU member territories; the National Trust Bill for St. Kitts and Nevis, and the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College Bill. He has also rendered yeoman’s service in the consultation, design and drafting of our very own Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Bill, which eventually became the Small Business Development Act (Number 24) of 2009. This achievement is the result of a three-year, ILO-funded SME Development project with the St. Kitts-Nevis Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

Mr Seaton is a partner in the local law firm Seaton & Foreman. He currently serves as Vice President of the St. Christopher National Trust.