Sir Henry James "Jack" Tucker (14 March 1903 – 9 January 1986) was the first Government Leader of

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. He is considered — together with Dr.

E. F. Gordon Edgar Fitzgerald Gordon (20 March 1895 – 20 April 1955), born in Trinidad and Tobago, was a physician, parliamentarian, civil-rights activist and labour leader in Bermuda, and is regarded as the "father of trade unionism" there: "he championed ...

(1895–1955) — one of the island's two most important leaders of the 20th century."Sir Henry Tucker – one of the Island's two most important leaders of the 20th Century"
''Royal Gazette'', 16 June 2011. Tucker first took office on 10 June 1968 and served until 29 December 1971 as a member of the

United Bermuda Party The United Bermuda Party (UBP) was a political party in Bermuda, which represented itself as centrist party with a moderate social and fiscal agenda. The party held power in Bermuda's House of Assembly continuously from 1968 to 1998, the 47-year ...

(UBP), the

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

that he helped found in 1964. Henry Tucker was born in Bermuda on 14 March 1903, the son of merchant Henry James and Nella Louise (born Trott). He was a direct descendant of the first British settlers in Bermuda, who included Daniel Tucker, an early Bermudian colonial governor in 1616. Bermuda's Trot family descend from famous 17th-century settler Perient Trott (1614–1679), who led the campaign against the

Somers Isles Company The Somers Isles Company (fully, the Company of the City of London for the Plantacion of The Somers Isles or the Company of The Somers Isles) was formed in 1615 to operate the English colony of the Somers Isles, also known as Bermuda, as a commer ...

that would lead to its dissolution in 1684. Tucker was educated at Whitney Institute and at

Saltus Grammar School Saltus Grammar School, founded in 1880, is an independent school in Pembroke Parish, Bermuda. It was a boys' school until 1992, when it became co-educational. It has two campuses, one for the Lower Primary (Foundation - Year 2) and one for the U ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, before being sent at the age of 17, in 1920, to boarding school in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, where he attended

Sherborne School (God and My Right) , established = 705 by Aldhelm, re-founded by King Edward VI 1550 , closed = , type = Public school Independent, boarding school , religion = Church of England , president = , chair_label = Chairman of the governors , ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

. Lacking the means to pursue university studies, he returned to Bermuda in 1922 to find work. Tucker moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where from 1924 until 1934 he worked for several

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

s and stock brokerages. Returning to Bermuda, he became an employee of the

Bank of Bermuda The original logo of The Bank of Bermuda before it joined the HSBC Group HSBC Bank Bermuda Limited, previously the Bank of Bermuda Limited, is a financial services company in Bermuda providing retail and corporate banking, investment, custody an ...

. He was promoted to general manager in 1938. On his retirement in 1969 he was elected Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Bermuda, and would serve in this capacity until 1985.Bank Of Bermuda Foundation Sir Henry Tucker University Scholarship
, bermudascholarships.com; accessed 19 June 2015.

Politics

In 1938 Tucker was elected to Parliament as a representative in

Paget Paget is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin which may refer to: * Lord Alfred Paget (1816–1888), British soldier, courtier and politician * Almeric Paget, 1st Baron Queenborough (1861–1949), British cowboy, industrialist, yachtsman and politician ...

. Tucker was elected to the Bermuda House of Assembly in the 1950s. He helped found the United Bermuda Party in 1964, after spending almost 20 years in the Assembly. He immediately became the UBP's leader. Tucker became Bermuda's first Premier in 1968, after the island's first election with

universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...

. Tucker resigned from office in 1971, citing his advancing age. He was

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

ed by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

in 1972. Famous quote:

Death

Sir Henry Tucker died in Bermuda on 9 January 1986 at the age of 82. He is survived by two of his children, Robert Newbold Tucker, who currently lives in Bermuda, and daughter Judy Denney, who currently lives in Texas. His granddaughter, actress Joanne Tucker, is married to actor

Adam Driver Adam Douglas Driver (born November 19, 1983) is an American actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, four Primetime Emmy Awards and a Tony Award; making him one of few performers nominated ...

Legacy

*On Bermuda's National Heroes Day in June 2011, Sir Henry Tucker was honoured as one of the architects of modern Bermuda.Bermuda's National Heroes
16 June 2011. *The Bank of Bermuda Foundation offers "Sir Henry Tucker University Scholarship and Education Grants" to help ensure the future of the island's youth.

References

External links

The UBP Story, Sir Henry Tucker, United Bermuda Party website.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tucker, Henry (Bermudian politician) 1903 births 1986 deaths 20th-century Bermudian businesspeople

Henry Tucker (Bermudian politician) Sir Henry James "Jack" Tucker (14 March 1903 – 9 January 1986) was the first Government Leader of Bermuda. He is considered — together with Dr. E. F. Gordon (1895–1955) — one of the island's two most important leaders of the 20 ...

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