| Perry Christie | |
|---|---|
| Former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meets with Bahamian Prime Minister Perry Christie in Nassau, Bahamas March 21, 2006. | |
| 3rd Prime Minister of the Bahamas | |
| In office May 3, 2002 – May 4, 2007 |
|
| Deputy | The Hon. Cynthia A. Pratt |
| Preceded by | Hubert A. Ingraham |
| Succeeded by | Hubert A. Ingraham |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 21, 1944 Nassau, Bahamas |
| Political party | Progressive Liberal Party |
| Spouse(s) | Bernadette Christie |
Perry Gladstone Christie (born August 21, 1944) is a Bahamian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of the Bahamas from 2002 to 2007. He is also a former athlete.
The Right Honourable Perry Gladstone Christie was sworn in as the third Prime Minister of an independent Bahamas on May 3, 2002, following his Progressive Liberal Party's triumph over the Free National Movement in a general election a day earlier. Official returns gave the former Opposition Leader's party 29 of the 40 House of Assembly seats that were at stake. The FNM, which had governed The Bahamas for nearly a decade under Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, won seven seats.
Christie characterizes his party as "a PLP that will not only build new hospitals, schools, bridges and roads, but a PLP that will build up patriotism, pride, optimism and hope. These values must be brought to full flowering; otherwise, we labour in vain." Victorious in the newly created Farm Road constituency in the general election, he was appointed Leader of the Opposition by the Governor-General on April 7, 1997. He had been elected leader of the PLP at a special convention on April 5, 1997. Christie thus succeeded the late Rt. Hon. Sir Lynden Oscar Pindling, M.P., who had led the PLP since 1956 as both Leader of the Opposition and leader of the party.
Christie, who was re-elected to the House of Assembly in the March 14, 1997, general election, defeated Dr. Bernard J. Nottage and Mr. Philip C. Galanis, both former M.P.s, in a poll for party leader. Born in Nassau August 21, 1943, Christie is the eldest son of cab driver Gladstone L. Christie and Nurse Naomi Christie, both of whom are deceased. He attended the Eastern Senior School in New Providence, Tampa Technical Institute of Technology and Laura's School of Fashion and Design, from which he graduated with honours in 1969.
Christie, an attorney-at-law, is believed to have been the youngest Bahamian ever appointed to the Senate. Named Senator by Prime Minister Sir Lynden Pindling in November 1974, Christie served in that capacity until June 1977. In January of the latter year he was appointed chairman of the Gaming Board, which regulates casinos in The Bahamas. Receiving the PLP's nomination for the Centreville constituency in the 1977 general election, Christie was elected Member of Parliament for that constituency, and shortly after appointed Minister of Health and National Insurance. During the June 1982 general election, he was re-elected Member of Parliament for Centreville, and was once again appointed to the Prime Minister's Cabinet, but as Minister of Tourism] to new heights. In 1984, however, along with future Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Hubert A. Ingraham, Christie was dismissed from the Cabinet in what was widely perceived at the time to be a pre-emptive strike by Pindling to thwart their anticipated resignation. During the 1987 general election, Christie ran as an independent candidate, retaining his seat in the Centreville constituency. Three years later - in March, 1990 - Christie returned to the fold of the Progressive Liberal Party, and was appointed Minister of Agriculture, Trade and Industry by Prime Minister Pindling.
In January, 1993, following the PLP's defeat in the August 1992, general election, Christie was elected Co-Deputy Leader of the PLP (along with Dr. Bernard Nottage) with responsibility for party activities outside parliament.
Christie is a founding member of the Valley Boys, one of the two leading Junkanoo groups in the country, and of the Pioneers Sporting Club. Christie's athletic skills developed as a member of the Pioneers, and led to his representing The Bahamas at the 1960 West Indies Federation Games in Kingston, Jamaica, and at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Kingston in 1962, when he won a bronze medal in the triple jump, the first-ever medal for The Bahamas in a field event in international sporting competition.
A Methodist, Christie is married to the former Bernadette Joan Hanna, chartered accountant, attorney-at-law and banker. They have two sons, Steffan and Adam, and a daughter, Alexandra.
Christie's innovation of the Urban Renewal Programme in The Bahamas 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.
In the economic sphere, Christie's "Anchor Development Policy" resulted in major resort development projects being attracted to many of the underdeveloped Family Islands although few of these have proceeded to realization in the wake of the crippling global recession. The Anchor Development policy was severely criticized by several interest groups, including the inhabitants of Great Guana Cay, Bimini Bay and other Family Islands, on primarily environmental grounds.
Prime Minister Christie's five year administration suffered major scandals. The most notable of these were the Anna Nicole Smith matter which led to the resignation of a Minister; fisticuffs between two members of parliament while attending a parliamentary meeting of Mr. Christie's PLP party; an accusation of rape against a senior Cabinet minister. Mr. Christie was widely criticized for responding too slowly and indecisively to these crises.
In 2005, Christie suffered a mild stroke that left him unable to fulfill his duties for several weeks. All indications, however, are that he has made a complete recovery.
The PLP was defeated in the May 2007 general election, taking 18 seats against 23 for the FNM, and Christie conceded defeat in a phone call to FNM leader Ingraham.[1] After the new FNM government was sworn in, Christie was sworn in as leader of the Official Opposition.[2]
Christie is currently the longest-serving member of the Bahamian Parliament (including his service in the Senate). In November, 2009, Christie was overwhelmingly returned as Leader of the PLP at its Annual General Convention, garnering more than 80% of the vote over Dr. Bernard Nottage.
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