Sir Allen Montgomery Lewis (26 October 1909 – 18 February 1993) was a

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindian ...

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

and

public servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

who twice served as the country's

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

Early life

He was born in

Castries Castries is the capital and largest city of Saint Lucia, an island country in the Caribbean. The urban area has a population of approximately 20,000, while the eponymous district has a population of 70,000, as at May 2013. The city stretches o ...

and was educated at the Castries Anglican Infant and Primary Schools and Saint Mary's College, Castries. He then studied law at

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

and the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

. He became a member of Castries City Council in 1941, acting as Chairman six times. He was one of the founders and the first president of the

Saint Lucia Labour Party The Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) is a social democratic political party in Saint Lucia. It currently holds 13 of the 17 seats in the House of Assembly. History The party was established in 1949, backed by the Saint Lucia Workers Cooperative Un ...

in 1950. Before his appointments to the viceregal post, Sir Allen sat on the legislative council (1943–1951) and was a senator in the

Federal Parliament of the West Indies Federation The Federal Parliament of the West Indies Federation was the bicameral legislature in West Indies Federation from 1958 to 1962. It was established as the legislative body in the intended federation of British Caribbean. One election was held, in 1 ...

(1958–1959). Allen had a distinguished legal career alongside his political accomplishments; he was a judge on the Jamaican Court of Appeal (1962–1967) and the first Chief Justice of the

West Indies Associated States Supreme Court The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) is a superior court, superior court of record for the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), including six independent states: Antigua and Barbuda, t ...

(1967–1972). In 1975 he became Chancellor of the

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...

. In 1972 he returned to Saint Lucia and spent two years establishing a National Development Corporation to develop the economy of the island, after which he was appointed Governor of Saint Lucia, the Queen's representative. When St Lucia gained independence in 1979 he served twice in the equivalent role as

Governor-General of Saint Lucia The governor-general of Saint Lucia is the representative of the Saint Lucian monarch, currently Charles III. The official residence of the governor-general is Government House. The position of governor-general was established when Saint Lucia ...

(1979–1980 and 1982–1987). His brother,

W. Arthur Lewis Sir William Arthur Lewis (23 January 1915 – 15 June 1991) was a Saint Lucian economist and the James Madison Professor of Political Economy at Princeton University. Lewis was known for his contributions in the field of economic development. I ...

, won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics for his work on developing countries and the "

Lewis turning point The Lewis turning point is a situation in economic development where surplus rural labor is fully absorbed into the manufacturing sector. This typically causes agricultural and unskilled industrial real wages to rise. The term is named after eco ...

Honours and awards

* 1952 Awarded the Coronation Medal. * 1968 Made

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

. * 1975 Made a Knight of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. * 1977 Awarded the Jubilee Medal. * 1979 Made a Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Saint Michael and Saint George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

(GCMG). * 1985 Awarded the Grand Cross of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

(GCVO). * 1974 Awarded honorary degree of Doctor of Laws by the

References

Biography
(Saint Lucia Government House)

External links

Governors General of Saint LuciaCivics
1909 births 1993 deaths Alumni of University of London Worldwide Members of the Middle Temple Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Lucia Knights of the Order of St John People associated with the University of the West Indies Governors-General of Saint Lucia Saint Lucian judges Saint Lucian judges on the courts of Jamaica Chief justices of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court 20th-century Saint Lucian lawyers Governors of British Saint Lucia People from Castries Quarter Saint Lucian judges of international courts and tribunals Members of the Federal Parliament of the West Indies Federation {{SaintLucia-politician-stub