The newly-appointed Governor General His Excellency the Hon. Arthur D. Hanna signs the Oath in the Oath Book as Chief Justice Sir Burton Hall looks on during the ceremony on Wednesday at Government House. Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Perry Christie and his wife Bernadette Christie are shown looking on in the background.
With all the pomp and pageantry befitting the occasion, Mr. Hanna swore to serve his country well during his twilight years, a promise he made in front of a packed room of invited guests who included his wife, the former Beryl Church, his four surviving children and his grandchildren.
Also in attendance at the Government House ceremony were Prime Minister Perry Christie, other cabinet ministers, Leader of the Official Opposition and former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, other opposition members, other parliamentarians, religious leaders, former governors general and others.
Mr. Hanna follows in the footsteps of Sir Milo Butler, Sir Gerald Cash, Sir Henry Taylor, Sir Clifford Darling, Sir Orville Turnquest and Dame Ivy Dumont, who retired this past November.
Former Attorney General Paul Adderley was appointed acting governor general upon Dame Ivy’s retirement, a post he held for two months.
In a brief speech, Mr. Hanna expressed deep appreciation for the opportunity to be of further service to his beloved country.
“All my life, I have sought to serve my country to the very best of my ability and to do so with integrity and high purpose,” he said.
“That sense of high purpose is what inspired me when I stepped forward to join the battle against injustice more than 50 years ago and it is that same sense of high purpose that inspires me now, in the twilight of my career in public life, as I answer this final call to play my part in the continued building of the nation I helped found more than 30 years ago.”
Mr. Hanna added that he is deeply conscious of the important duties now before him as he assumes the high office. As part of a covenant with the Bahamian people, he pledged to all that he can to unite Bahamians.
“I shall be a unifier, not a divider of the people. I promise that in all I do and say, I shall endeavor to sow the seeds of peace so that all the people of our nation – be they rich or poor, black or white, city dweller of Family Islander – can be brought even closer to a harvest of social harmony and happy concord,” the new governor general said.
“Service above self, love of country and love and respect for each other. These are the virtues that I shall seek always to instill in our people, especially our young, for I know only too well that in our nation today the virtues of which I speak stand in need of replenishment and renewal as never before. Each of us must play a part in meeting that challenge. As for myself, with God’s help and your support, I intend to play mine.”
It is tradition for the governor general to be knighted by the gueen. However, Mr. Hanna has made little secret of his strong opposition to the monarchy.
The question now arises whether he would accept the title of Sir, to which he answered: “We have not reached that far yet. We have not discussed that. We don’t have to. It must be requested and we have not gone that far yet.”
In equally brief congratulatory remarks, Prime Minister Christie said the new governor general has come a long way from Pompey Bay, Acklins where he was born to Government House on Mount Fitzwilliam.
He said it is a way that is not measured in miles or hours, but in struggles and sacrifices of great men and women like Mr. Hanna.
“Fifty years ago, His Excellency threw himself, heart and soul into the great struggles of his time,” the prime minister said.
“He did so with a fortitude and an uncompromising adherence to principle that inspired not only his comrades-in-arms at the time, but the generation that followed, in whose numbers I counted myself. He was a great inspiration to me, and so many others of my contemporaries.
“His intellectual purity-his compassion for the poor, his high principles and his incorruptibility demonstrated to all of us that politics could indeed be a noble calling. Fifty years on, having served our nation in so many different ways at so many different levels, it is truly wonderful that this warrior for freedom and nationhood, this builder of the modern Bahamas, this elder statesman of the first rank has once again answered the call to duty.”
The prime minister expressed confidence that Mr. Hanna will bring the same kind of patriotic enthusiasm to his new office.
Mr. Christie also applauded Mrs. Hanna whom he said not only contributed to the struggle for Majority Rule, but was also extremely influential in raising the consciousness of The Bahamas about the plight of South Africans in the era of apartheid.
He also thanked Mr. Adderley, whom he said held the fort “so ably and elegantly” during the demission from office of Dame Ivy and the appointment of a new substantive governor general.
Reflecting on his friend’s recent elevation, former Deputy Prime Minister Clement T. Maynard called Mr. Hanna a force in The Bahamas for the benefit and advancement of Bahamians.
He said Mr. Hanna worked hard and sacrificed a lot and that assuming the high office nearing the end of his career “is a great thing.”
“I am very happy about it all,” Sir Clement said. “It goes to prove that if you give your best and if you do it well, and make the people respect you and serve them well, anything is possible.”
Sir Clement admitted that while he was never approached to assume the role as governor general, it was widely known that he was not interested.
“This is not because it is not a good office, but I have been recovering from an illness and I made up my mind what I wanted to do and it did not include coming up here,” he said.
Sir Clement has been busy writing a book about the country’s transition from its colonial days to sovereignty. He hopes it will be completed by the end of the year.
Former Governor General Sir Orville Turnquest, one of Mr. Hanna’s former classmates and political colleague, said the former deputy prime minister’s appointment brings a source of great pleasure.
Sir Clifford Darling agreed.
“I think that this a wonderful day for Mr. Hanna and The Bahamas. He came a long way from Acklins,” Sir Clifford said.
“He deserves everything that comes his way because he fought hard for democracy and majority rule in the country. We have come a very long way.”
By: Macushla N. Pinder, The Bahama Journal
