| His Excellency Sir Cuthbert Sebastian GCMG OBE KStJ |
|
|---|---|
| Governor General of Saint Kitts and Nevis | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 1 January 1996 |
|
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Denzil Douglas |
| Preceded by | Clement Arrindell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 22 October 1921 |
| Alma mater | Mount Allison University Dalhousie University |
| Profession | Obstetrician and gynaecologist |
Sir Cuthbert Montraville Sebastian, GCMG, OBE (born 22 October 1921), is the Governor-General of St. Kitts and Nevis.[1] He was appointed Governor-General in 1995 and was sworn in on 1 January 1996. He is the world's oldest de facto head of state.
Sebastian is the only surviving son of Joseph Matthew Sebastian, who was a Member of the Legislative and Executive Councils of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla until his death in 1944, and Inez Veronica Sebastian (née Hodge). He studied at Mount Allison University, New Brunswick, where he obtained a BSc degree. He entered Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he studied medicine and graduated, in 1958, with a MDCM degree to become a surgeon.
He has served in St. Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla as pupil teacher, learner/dispenser, chemist and druggist, laboratory technician, senior dispenser, Medical Superintendent and obstetrician-gynaecologist. He was Chief Medical Officer of St. Kitts and Nevis from 1980 to 1983. During the period 1962 – 1966, he pursued training at the Dundee Royal Infirmary, Scotland in obstetrics and gynaecology.
Sebastian was a rear gunner during World War II in the Royal Canadian Air Force, voluntary Captain in the Scottish Army, local physician to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales (Prince Charles), when His Highness visited St. Kitts in 1973 (the Prince of Wales visited the island to open the newly-restored Prince of Wales Bastion, 1 June). In addition, he was ADC to the Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla Premier, Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw, when Bradshaw went to Buckingham Palace on the occasion of Her Majesty’s 25th year on the Throne.
In 1969, Sebastian received an Order of the British Empire (OBE) from Queen Elizabeth II. He was knighted as a Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George in 1996. Dalhousie University honoured him with an Honorary Doctorate of Laws, in 1998, and in 2005 he received an Honorary Doctorate from Mount Allison University. On 5 July 2002, he received an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS) of Edinburgh in Scotland, for his outstanding career and service to humanity in the field of medicine. Prior to Edinburgh, he received an FRCS in London. In 2005 the College of Arms granted him his personal Coat of Arms.
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Clement Arrindell |
Governor General of Saint Kitts and Nevis 1996–present |
Incumbent |