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From:TheBahamasWeekly.com Bahamas Information Services Updates
Nassau, Bahamas – Prime Minister the Hon Hubert Ingraham described the new Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Senator John Delaney, as an “accomplished professional who has already demonstrated his willingness to render public service to his country at considerable sacrifice to himself and his family.”
Senator Delaney was sworn in during a
ceremony at Government House, November 23, presided over by Governor-General
Arthur D Hanna who administered the office and the oath of allegiance.
Among those present were parliamentarians,
senators, senior public officials, family and friends.
Presenting Mr. Delaney with his Letter
of Portfolio as the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs,
the Governor General congratulated him and admonished him to shun anyone
who challenges his integrity and not to be afraid of decisions that
he makes.
In his new capacity Senator Delaney will
also be responsible for the promotion and development of financial services,
and relations with the Financial Services Industry and the Bahamas Financial
Services Board.
“I am confident that he will assist
in the ongoing development of this important industry so that it benefits
our economy while adhering to evolving international standards,” said
Prime Minister Ingraham.
“I believe that he will bring great
creativity and insight to the promotion of this pillar of our national
economy, both at home and abroad.”
Because of Senator Delaney’s training, experience and “commitment to justice for all Bahamians,” said Mr Ingraham, the new Attorney General will “acquit himself well in his new office.”
“I am also certain that Attorney General
Delaney will lend his considerable talents and energy to my Government’s
efforts to strengthen significantly the judiciary as well as to combat
crime within our Bahamas.”
Mr. Delaney is the seventh of eight children
born to the late John F. and Remona Delaney. He received his early education
in Nassau at Palmdale Primary School and St. Augustine’s College before
pursuing law.
He attained an LL.B. with honors from Birmingham University, a Master of Laws from the University of London, and qualified professionally at Lincoln’s Inn.
He was called to the Bahamas Bar in 1987
and has been practicing at the Higgs and Johnson law firm, of which
he has been a partner since 1994.
He specialized in commercial litigation
and financial services law and is recognized internationally as a leader
in the field.
A Senator before, Mr. Delaney also served
on the National Insurance Board, the Bahamas Financial Services Board,
the Road Traffic Authority, and the Bahamas Trade Commission.
He is married to Daphne Delaney and is
the father of three children.
Prime Minister Ingraham also thanked the Hon. Brent Symonette, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs for having “ably” held the portfolio of Attorney General since the resignation of now Chief Justice Sir Michael Barnett.
Remarks by Rt. Hon. Hubert A. Ingraham Prime Minister at the Swearing-in of the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Government House
23 November
2009
Your Excellency Governor General Colleague Ministers Senators Members of Parliament Secretary to the Cabinet Senior and other Public Officers
Ladies and
Gentlemen:
I thank His
Excellency for acceding to my request to appoint John Delaney to the
Senate and for so graciously presiding over this ceremony and for administering
the oath of office and the oath of allegiance. Thank you, Sir.
I should also
like to thank my colleague, the Hon. Brent Symonette, Deputy Prime Minister
and Minister of Foreign Affairs, for having ably held the portfolio
of Attorney General since the resignation of Sir Michael Barnett.
Once again
it gives me great pleasure to welcome to the Upper House of Parliament
and to my Cabinet another accomplished Bahamian professional, one who
has already demonstrated his willingness to render public service to
his country and who is willing to do so at considerable sacrifice to
himself and his family.
John Delaney
was born into a well-regarded Bahamian family and is the seventh of
eight children of the late John F. Delaney and Mrs. Remona Delaney,
formerly Burrows.
He received
his early education in Nassau at Palmdale Primary School and St. Augustine’s
College before going abroad to pursue studies in his chosen profession
of the law.
He excelled
with an LL.B. with honours from Birmingham University, a Master of Laws
from the University of London, and qualified professionally at Lincoln’s
Inn.
He was called
to the Bar in 1987 and has been practising law with the firm of Higgs
& Johnson, of which he has been a partner since 1994.
John has specialized in commercial litigation and financial services law. Having written extensively in both fields in various publications he is recognized internationally as a leader in the field.
You will have
noticed that in addition to the usual portfolio items of Attorney General
and Minister of Legal Affairs, I have added to his responsibilities
the Promotion and Development of Financial Services, though not its
regulation, and relations with the Financial Services Industry and the
Bahamas Financial Services Board.
Because of
his considerable experience in the area of financial services, I am
confident that he will assist in the ongoing development of this important
industry so that it benefits our economy while adhering to evolving
international standards.
I believe that
he will bring great creativity and insight to the promotion of this
pillar of our national economy, both at home and abroad.
I mentioned
earlier that John has demonstrated his willingness to render public
service.
In addition
to having previously served as a Senator, he has served on a number
of public entities including the National Insurance Board, the Bahamas
Financial Services Board, the Road Traffic Authority and the Bahamas
Trade Commission where he was Co-Chair.
He also found
the time in years past to offer his services as an evening lecturer
at the College of The Bahamas.
I am confident
that with the support of his wife, Daphne, and his children, Amorae,
Dana and Maya, John will be an invaluable member of my Cabinet and that
he will serve the Bahamian people well in this capacity and as a member
of the Senate.
Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen:
Our new Attorney
General and Minister of Legal Affairs assumes responsibility for these
important offices at a time when our people are rightly concerned about
the rising incidence of crime, especially violent crime, in our country.
I recall again the ancient declaration of Cicero to the authorities
of his day that “the safety of the people shall be their highest law”.
And so, our
whole society must be held up to examination. In the weeks and
months ahead, my colleagues and I will be addressing the Bahamian people
on different occasions, by different means and in different forums,
about the complex challenge of violent crime and our response to that
challenge as a Government and as a people.
While governments
are responsible for national security, including combating crime, we
are all responsible for combating and reducing those conditions and
attitudes which foster crime in the first place.
We are responsible
as parents and teachers, as clergymen and civic leaders, as role models
and citizens. The fight against crime, if it is to be successful,
cannot simply rely on the newest technologies and equipment, though
these are important.
As importantly,
we must engage the hearts and minds, the consciences and will-power
of all Bahamians as we transform those mindsets which often lead to
violence as a means of settling differences, or taking what is not ours
whether from our places of employment or elsewhere.
We must have
no tolerance for violent crime. And we must also not tolerate petty
criminality and other anti-social behaviour which may suggest to would-be
criminals that we are a society tolerant of such behaviour.
Your Excellency,
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Again, just
as the causes of crime do indeed constitute a complex challenge, so
too must the responses to crime be multi-faceted and sustained at all
levels of our society. Just as there is no one cause for crime,
there most certainly is no single response.
My Government’s
ongoing response to crime and criminality includes crime prevention
and detection measures through the Royal Bahamas Police Force and other
agencies on the frontlines of our national security efforts.
Our response
includes providing all relevant crime-fighting and prosecution agencies
with the leadership, manpower, conditions of service, tools, technology
and powers needed to combat crime and violence.
We are providing
the Judiciary with the resources to engage judges and improve facilities
and other resources needed to ensure that our criminal justice system
is able to conduct more timely but fair trials so that crime victims
and their families, as well as accused persons, are afforded a greater
degree of justice.
Your Excellency,
Ladies and Gentlemen:
My Government
has an integrated short-, medium- and long-range national strategy to
fight crime and reduce criminality, using all possible means, within
the law, including changes to a range of legislation, some of which
have already been enacted, and others that will be presented in due
course.
We are a nation
of laws. We are bound by our own laws and, in some cases, by international
law. So my Government will not condone mindsets and actions that
want to dispense with the law when it is convenient, but at the same
time seek to impose that very same law on the criminal behaviour we
are seeking to punish.
Justice is
a noble taskmaster whom we must all respect if we are to enjoy its privileges
as well as its protections. Our democracy and our constitutional
rights and privileges can only remain safe with a strong and independent
Judiciary.
Because of
his training, his experience and his commitment to justice for all Bahamians,
I am certain that our new Attorney General will acquit himself well
in his new office.
I am also certain
that Attorney General Delaney will lend his considerable talents and
energy to my Government’s efforts to strengthen significantly the
Judiciary as well as to combat crime within our Bahamas.
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