Nassau, The Bahamas – Government House
announced on Wednesday, June 2 that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has
conferred upon His Excellency Sir Arthur Foulkes, the Governor-General
of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, the award of Knight Grand Cross
of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George,
(GCMG).
The conferment is in recognition of Sir
Arthur’s appointment as Governor-General of the Commonwealth of The
Bahamas, according to a release from Government House.
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint
Michael and Saint George is the highest of three classes with Knight
Commander (KCMG) or Dame Commander (DCMG) being the second highest and
Companion (CMG) third.
The Order is named in honour of two
military
saints, St. Michael and St. George and was founded on April 28, 1818
by George Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom.
The GCMG recognises individuals who have
rendered important services in relation to foreign or Commonwealth
affairs.
People are recognised by appointment to the Order rather than award
of it.
Sir Arthur was elected
to Parliament in 1967 and the following year appointed to serve in the
Cabinet as Minister of Communications then as Minister of Tourism.
He was one of the
founders
of the Free National Movement in 1971, the now governing party of The
Bahamas.
He was appointed to the
Senate in 1972 and 1977, and re-elected to the House of Assembly in
1982.
Sir Arthur was one of
the four Opposition delegates to The Bahamas Independence Constitution
Conference in London in 1972.
When the FNM was elected
the governing party, Sir Arthur entered the diplomatic service of The
Bahamas as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (resident in London)
and Ambassador to France, Germany, Italy, Belgium and the European
Union.
He represented The
Bahamas
to the Commonwealth in London, and the African Caribbean Pacific Group
in Brussels, was Permanent Representative to the International Maritime
Organisation and also Doyen of the Caribbean diplomatic corps in the
United Kingdom. He founded Friends of The Bahamas, a London-based
association.
In 1999 Sir Arthur was
appointed the first Bahamas Ambassador to the People’s Republic of
China and Ambassador to the Republic of Cuba. He is a founding member
of the China-Bahamas Friendship Association.
In recognition of his
service to the country, in 2001 he was appointed a Knight Commander
of the Order of St Michael and St George, by Queen Elizabeth II.
From 2007 until 2010
he served as Director General of Bahamas Information Services, the
Government’s
information and news agency, and was designated to act as Deputy to
the Governor General on every occasion His Excellency was absent from
The Bahamas.
Sir Arthur Foulkes was
sworn in as the eighth Governor-General on May 14, 2010.