Ewart Brown

Ewart Frederick Brown Jr. (born 1946) has been the Premier of Bermuda since 30 October 2006. He is also leader of the Progressive Labour Party (PLP), and holds the Cabinet post of Minister of Tourism & Transport.

Early life

Brown was born in Bermuda to Ewart Sr. and Helene Brown of Flatts. He attended the public Central School (today known as Victor Scott Primary) in Pembroke until the age of 11, after which he was awarded a government scholarship to attend Berkeley Institute. Difficulties in school led him to instead attend the Technical Institute, and eventually be sent off by his parents to live with his aunt in Jamaica. While there, he excelled in sports, particularly cricket and track & field, and represented that country in the 400-yard sprint.

Brown's sporting achievements led him to university in the United States of America. The University of Illinois offered him a scholarship, but Brown, unimpressed by the weather, chose instead to attend Howard University, a historically black university in Washington, D.C.. In 1966, he represented Bermuda at the Commonwealth Games, reaching the second round of the 400-yard dash. As a student leader, he was a vocal figure during the Washington riots, speaking alongside campus radicals and Black Panther leaders such as Stokely Carmichael. Brown later graduated with letters for football and track & field, and a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry.

Inspired by his uncle, G.B. McPhee, a practising physician, Brown decided to continue his education and become a doctor. He earned an M.D. from Howard's College of Medicine, and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a Master of Public Health from the University of California. His key areas of study included family medicine, population control and international health. Brown remained in Los Angeles, adopting US citizenship and opening a medical practice, the Vermont Century Medical Clinic, in 1974.

Between 1977 and 1984, he received a string of awards spaced at about two-year intervals. In 1977 he received the Physicians Recognition Award from the American Medical Association, followed by the Grassroots Health Award from the Sons of Watts California in 1979. In 1982 the Dubois Academic Institute conferred its Community Leadership Award. The NAACP acknowledged Brown with its Pacesetter Award in 1984.

Brown became a director for the Marcus Garvey School, a K-8 school in Los Angeles, which named him Humanitarian of the Year in 1991. He also spent time as an assistant professor in the Department of Family Practice at the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science.

Political life

At the urging of PLP leader Freddie Wade, Brown returned to Bermuda and became involved in local politics in 1993. The same year, he ran as a PLP candidate in the Warwick West constituency. In the previous election, Warwick West's two seats were won by Quinton L. Edness and John H. Sharpe of the United Bermuda Party (UBP), and the two were prepared to again win. Brown managed to dominate the early vote counts, and ended only two votes behind Edness in the final count. While he had not outright won, he did manage to take Sharpe's seat in Parliament.

In the following General Election in 1998, Brown again won one of the Warwick West seats, and was joined by another PLP candidate during the PLP's unprecedented victory over the UBP. With the PLP in control of Parliament, Brown was appointed to Cabinet as the Minister of Transport.

As Minister of Transport, Brown introduced a number of reforms, including the replacement of the island's ferries with faster, 205-seat catamarans, the Serenity and the Resolute, in 2002.[1] In May of that year, he clashed with the taxi industry over legislation to impose a GPS-based central despatching system, which led to the legislation being postponed for four years. He also caused commotion over the controversial sale of a property to the Government's Bermuda Housing Corporation in 2001.[2] Brown's most prominent reform was the introduction of new flight connections, though the effect of this on tourism was limited by the available of hotel beds.

Towards the end of his first term in cabinet, Brown hosted a luncheon in Washington, D.C., that was organised by Government pension funds consultant Tina Poitevien. Managers of the pension fund allegedly contributed donations to Brown's personal election campaign, but critics, most vocally Dr. Grant Gibbons of the UBP, condemned it as Pay to Play corruption. The event continues to play a prominent role in Bermuda's political world.[3]

Following the PLP's second General Election victory in July 2003, Brown led an internal power struggle in the PLP against Premier Jennifer M. Smith. A compromise between the factions of the party led to Smith being replaced by William Alexander Scott and Brown being named Deputy Premier, and later adding the Ministry of Tourism to his responsibilities. As the Minister of Tourism, Brown was given the influence to attract new hotels, though thusfar attempts to bring in new developers have fallen through.

In 2004, Brown clashed with the US Consulate over a "gross violation" of security at the Bermuda International Airport, when he allegedly avoided security screening procedures. Brown denied the claims, and criticised the Consulate for making the issue public.[4]

On October 12, 2006, Brown resigned from Cabinet to make a second bid for leadership. At a previously scheduled party delegates conference on the evening of October 27, he managed to defeat incumbent Scott by 107 to 76, and was sworn in as Premier on October 30. When he reshuffled the Cabinet, he reclaimed the tourism and transportation portfolios and became, in addition to Premier, the Minister of Tourism & Transport.

Trivia

Brown is married to Wanda Henton Brown and has four sons from a previous marriage.
Brown's mother was an MP for the UBP, as was his aunt, Gloria Juanita McPhee, who became Bermuda's first female member Cabinet Minister.
Brown is also known by the moniker "Doc Hollywood", due to his flamboyant style and the time spent in the US.[5]
Brown is involved in a long-standing vendetta with former UBP leader Dr. Grant Gibbons; Gibbons is one of Brown's most vocal critics, and Brown has retaliated by describing Gibbons as corrupt and racist, and has even publicly threatened him with violence.[6]

Quotes

"We had to lie to you."[7][8]
"I have worked hard, studied hard, and prepared for the task of leadership to the best of the abilities that God has given me."[9]
"I firmly believe in the right of all and any individuals to be free from discrimination in any form. However, I would not support the proposed Human Rights Amendment. I do not believe that there is a need for special protection of persons in Bermuda based on their sexual orientation."[10]
"There are too many cars in Bermuda. We must find a way - perhaps unpopular to many and disdained by others - to arrest the increase of cars on our beautiful island."[11]
"I am firmly committed to Bermuda becoming an independent nation."[12]
“Mr. Speaker, I have never had plans to cross this aisle, but in recent weeks that Honourable Member has said a few things that would encourage me to do so. I say to that Honourable Member that I would like to stay on this side of the House and not have come to the other side because it wouldn't be in order to vote for the UBP.”[13]

On race

"A plantation question is for me a question which conjures up images of the plantation: of a master-servant relationship, a man-boy relationship. A question that would be asked of a black politician and not a white one. I will continue to indicate to reporters if that is what a question is.”[14]
“It is a question that conjures up for me images of the plantation where the relationship between owner and servant is man and boy. A plantation question is a question that is rarely asked of a white politician.”[15]
In response to the criticism of "Plantation Questions" that plantations were not an aspect of slavery in Bermuda: "Everybody got the point."[16]
“Now black people respond negatively to any reference to castration. During slavery there was a big call for eunuch stations and it was at those stations that black men were sent to be castrated. If I called that member a racist dog. You see it is the dog that matters."[17]
“Mr. Speaker, I would never call that member a racist dog, because I can tell that he is not a dog.”[18]

On the Governor of Bermuda

"I asked if there was a way to raise the profile of the Governor with respect to some of the issues of the Police, when people are criticising the performance of the Police or suggesting the way things could be changed operationally. The Governor has always said he's been involved – I would like to have him more involved publicly. There have been a few instances when we feel he has been a little more hands-on – making direct contact with civil service. We take exception to that but I think we can work that out."[19]
"We want to clarify our position that we are not interested in sending any criteria for any future Governors for selection for the reason we don't think it is our responsibility. [The British government] should send whoever they want to send."[20]
“...I was happy to tell Lord Triesman that we won’t be setting any criteria for new governors anymore. That’s a setup...When it comes time to execute a programme that (choosing a Governor) limits me, because I helped it happen. Setting that criteria is the responsibility of the UK Government as long as we have to have Governors. When we have a Governor-General, then we can talk. I’m not really interested in the selection criteria for future governors.”[21]

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