Sir Cornelius Alvin Smith (born 7 April 1937) is a Bahamian politician and diplomat. Smith became the 11th

Governor-General of the Bahamas The governor-general of the Bahamas is the vice-regal representative of the Bahamian monarch, currently King Charles III, in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The governor-general is appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime ...

on 28 June 2019.

Biography

Smith was one of the first members of the

Free National Movement The Free National Movement ( abbreviated FNM) is a political party in The Bahamas formed in the early 1970s, led by Sir Cecil Wallace Whitfield. The current leader of the party is Michael Pintard and his deputy Peter Turnquest. It dominated t ...

upon its foundation in the early 1970s, and served in the legislature representing Marco City constituency in

Grand Bahama Grand Bahama is the northernmost of the islands of the Bahamas, with the town of West End located east of Palm Beach, Florida. It is the third largest island in the Bahamas island chain of approximately 700 islands and 2,400 cays. The island i ...

, starting in 1982, and was re-elected three times. Smith served as the Minister of Education from 1992 to 1995, Minister of Public Safety and Immigration from 1995 to 1997, Minister of Tourism from 1997 to 2000, and Minister of Transport and Local Government from 2000 to 2002. He also previously was Ambassador to the United States, starting on his appointment on 24 September 2007, as well as Ambassador/Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States and Non-Resident Ambassador to Mexico, Malaysia, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In 2018, Smith was sworn in as the deputy Governor General. On 17 June 2019, he was announced as the 11th

, taking up office on 28 June, in succession to Dame

Marguerite Pindling Dame Marguerite Pindling, Lady Pindling, ( McKenzie; born 26 June 1932) served as the tenth governor-general of the Bahamas, from 8 July 2014 to 28 June 2019. She is the second female governor-general of the Bahamas after Dame Ivy Dumont. She ...

, who had served in the position since 8 July 2014. In December 2019, Smith was the recipient of the Nassau Pan Hellenic Lifetime Achievement Award for his philanthropic contributions to The Bahamas.

Personal life

Cornelius Alvin Smith was born to Sylvanues and Susan Smith in North End, Long Island, Bahamas, on 7 April 1937. He received his primary education at Glintons Public School, Long Island, and his secondary education at the Bahamas Teachers Training College at Nassau, subsequently earning a master's degree in business administration from the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

. Smith is married to the former Clara Elizabeth Knowles, with whom he has three children.

References

1937 births Living people 21st-century Bahamian politicians Governors-General of the Bahamas Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George University of Miami alumni {{Bahamas-bio-stub