Sir Lyndon Pindling Dies - Father of the modern day Bahamas

Sir Lyndon Pindling Dies

The Rt. Hon. Sir Lynden Oscar Pindling passed away on August 25 in Nassau after a prolonged battle with prostate cancer which was first diagnosed in 1996. He was 70 years old. He will be laid to rest on September 4.

Sir Lynden, Father of The Bahamas, was leader of The Bahamas for many years, first bringing about black majority rule and later leading The Bahamas into independence. He was the longest serving elected head of government in the Commonwealth.

Sir Lynden was born in Nassau in 1930 and attended government schools. He studied law in England and received a degree in 1952. He was called to the English Bar in 1953 and to the Bahamas Bar in that same year. He joined the PLP shortly after its formation in 1953. He was first elected to Parliament in 1956 and became Chairman of the PLP in 1963. In the general election of 1967 he succeeded in bringing about black majority rule and served as Premier beginning on January 19 of that year. He led the PLP to election victories in 1967, 1968, 1972, 1977, 1982 and 1987. He retired in 1997 after serving in Parliament for 41 consecutive years.

Sir Lynden laid the foundation of our modern Bahamas and achieved a number of major objectives. The first of these was full independence which came about on July 10, 1973. Later that year The Bahamas became a member of the United Nations. He brought about prosperity which has given The Bahamas one of the highest standards of living in the Western Hemisphere. Some of his accomplishments included social, economic and infrastructural programs which still serve our country.

During his long term in office, he had many honours bestowed on him. In 1983 he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. He was awarded several honourary degrees from American universities. He was a member of the Queen's Privy Council. Sir Lynden was married to Marguerite McKenzie of Long Bay Cays, Andros and they had two sons and two daughters.

He leaves behind a legacy which will long be recognized as creating a country which can be proud of its accomplishments.