Hon. Eugene Aubrey Pyfrom Dupuch, CBE, QC (7 December 1912 - 23 September 1981) was a Bahamian journalist, lawyer, Member of Parliament, and Cabinet Minister.

Early life and education

Dupuch was the son of Leon Dupuch, founder of the Tribune newspaper, and his second wife, Mary Ethelinda Pyfrom. Eugene had four older half-siblings from his father's first marriage, including Sir Etienne Dupuch. Eugene attended

Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the Queens borough of New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. Its 80-acre campus is primarily located in Flushing, Queens. It has a student body representing more than 170 ...

and graduated from

Saint John's University (Minnesota) The College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University are two closely related private, Catholic higher education institutions in Minnesota. The College of Saint Benedict is a women's college located in St. Joseph, while Saint John's Univ ...

in BA in 1934.

Early journalistic career

He became an assistant editor at the Tribune and married Gladys Black, a staff reporter at paper. However, she died nine months after their marriage. In 1943, he famously covered the Sir Harry Oakes murder trial, his report later being turned into a book.

Law career

In 1944, ten years after obtaining his bachelor's, Dupuch enrolled in law school at

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

, Ontario. In 1948, he was called to the English Bar at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

. He became a member of the Bahamas Bar in January 1949. Dupuch and future Governor-General of the Bahamas

Orville Turnquest Sir Orville Alton Turnquest (born 19 July 1928) is a politician who was the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Bahamas from 1992 to 1994, and the sixth governor-general of the Bahamas from 3 January 1995 until his retirement on 13 ...

were for many years partners in the law firm, Dupuch and Turnquest. In 1964, Dupuch was appointed one of Her Majesty's Counsel (QC) and acted as a judge of the

Supreme Court of the Bahamas The Supreme Court of the Bahamas is the third highest court in the adjudicative hierarchy of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The court was created by Article 93(1) of the Constitution. Before that, the Supreme Court was governed by the Supreme ...

in 1976. He also served as president of the Bar Association and chairman of the Bar Council.

Political career

Dupuch served for more than 15 years in the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...

and on the Executive Council from 1952 to 1964. He was at various times, Acting Attorney-General, Minister of Welfare, one of the delegates to the first constitutional conference in 1963, Acting Premier, Minister without Portfolio, and Opposition Leader in the Senate of the Bahamas.

Honours and awards

In 1957, Dupuch was made

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the Queen's Birthday Honours. In 1964, Dupuch was appointed

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

Death and legacy

On 23 September 1981, Dupuch died of a heart attack. He was 68. He was survived by his second wife, Dorothea, and son Peter. In September 1998, the

Eugene Dupuch Law School Located in Nassau, The Bahamas, the Eugene Dupuch Law School is named after the lawyer and politician, the late Hon. Eugene Dupuch CBE, Q.C. It was established in 1998 as the third law school in the English-speaking Caribbean community. The schoo ...

was named for him.

References

{{Reflist

External links

* ''Johnny's Fight Song'' (written by Eugene Dupuch) at th
St John's University website
* Legal case
''Prominent Doctor and Married Man Arrested in Abortion Case (1959)''
Bahamianology blog post. * Legal case
Colonial Secretary Charged with Indecent Assault on Main (1962)
Bahamianology blog post. 1912 births 1981 deaths Bahamian lawyers Bahamian politicians