Perry Christie
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| Perry Christie | |
 Secretary Rice meets with Bahamian Prime Minister Perry Christie in Nassau, Bahamas March 21, 2006. |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office May 3, 2002 |
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| Deputy | The Hon. Cynthia A. Pratt |
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| Preceded by | Hubert Ingraham |
| Succeeded by | Incumbent |
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| Born | August 21, 1944 Nassau, Bahamas |
| Political party | Progressive Liberal Party |
| Spouse | Bernadette Christie |
Perry Gladstone Christie (born August 21, 1944) is the third and current Prime Minister of the Bahamas and a former athlete. He became Prime Minister on May 3, 2002 when his Progressive Liberal Party came to power in parliamentary elections. In 1984 he had quit the same party in disgust at the culture of bribe-taking, but later returned to it, rising through its ranks to become leader.
His bold initiative for urban renewal and development within the Bahamas has received international acclaim, winning both the Association of Caribbean Commissioners Community Policing Award in May 2003 and the International Association of Chiefs of Police and ITT Community Policing Award in 2004.
Economically, Christie's instituted schema focuses on Anchor Developments for the Remote Family Islands--as was charted in his 2002 general election campaign. Hallmarks of this economic initiative include major hotel and resort developments, which serve to progress the country's top industry, "tourism". His planning for investment -with assistance from key Cabinet Ministers - (along with creating the Ministry of Financial Services and Investments)has done much to change the dynamics of the countries investment policy [citation needed] and has created serious intellectual debate amongst true economist's and local businessmen alike. The new ministry has been consistent with finding new strategic alternatives for the Bahamian and international investor, in spite of coming off of the heels of a major financial crisis in 2000, precipitated by tougher banking policies handed down from the OECD.
Regardless of these achievements, Prime Minister Christie's administration has suffered severe scandals. The most notable of these originate from rape charges pressed against one of his top level Cabinet ministers to victimization and abuse of power charges alleged against a lower level Cabinet minister. No formal reprimand or removal of any official came as a result of these allegations. This leaves somewhat of a blemish on his administration and has left people to question the strength of his leadership. [citation needed] This doubt has been increased with rumors of his poor health and him suffering a mild stroke in mid 2005 that left him unable to fulfill his duties in full capacity for several weeks.
All in all, many people understand that the Christie government has acted wisely, even though sometimes being very deliberate in their decision making. [citation needed]
Christie is married to Bernadette Christie, a chartered accountant.
