Sir Milo Boughton Butler (11 August 190622 January 1979) was a
Bahamian politician who served as the second
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 ...
from 1973 to 1979. He died in office aged 72.
Early life and family
Butler was born in
Nassau
Nassau may refer to:
Places Bahamas
*Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence
Canada
*Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792
*Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...
,
The Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...
on 11 August 1906 to George Raleigh Butler and his wife Frances. He attended the George Washington School in Florida, the public school at Rum Cay, and the Boys' Central School in Nassau.
At age 17, Butler began his own grocery business.
On 14 October 1928, Butler married Caroline Loretta Watson. They had seven sons and three daughters.
[
]
Career and death
Butler entered electoral politics in 1936 as a member of the Progressive Liberal Party
The Progressive Liberal Party ( abbreviated PLP) is a populist and social liberal party in the Bahamas. Philip Davis is the leader of the party.
History
The PLP was founded in 1953 by William Cartwright, Cyril Stevenson, and Henry Milton T ...
(PLP), when he unsuccessfully ran against Sir Harry Oakes in the Western District of New Providence.[ Although Butler was seen as a charismatic candidate who had the support of the working class voters, Oakes' team allegedly employed "questionable" means to win the election.] The following year, Butler was elected to parliament following a by-election in the same constituency, relinquishing the office in 1947.
In 1956, after the government imposed a 12-minute limit on parliamentary speeches, Butler threw the Speaker's hourglass out of the window at the House of Assembly. He returned as a member of parliament for the Western District the same year, serving for a decade. From 1967 to 1973, he represented Bain Town.[
After the PLP emerged victorious in the 1967 general election and formed a majority government, Butler became Minister of Health and Welfare followed by Minister of Labour, Agriculture and Fisheries a year later. In 1970, he was appointed as Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, and in 1972 he became Minister without Portfolio. On 1 August 1973, Butler was appointed as the second Governor-General of the Bahamas by ]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 her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
, Queen of the Bahamas
The monarchy of the Bahamas is a system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The current Bahamian monarch and head of state since 8 September 2022, is King Charles ...
on the recommendation of Lynden Pindling
Sir Lynden Oscar Pindling, NH, KCMG, PC, JP (22 March 193026 August 2000) was a Bahamian politician who is regarded as the "Father of the Nation" of the Bahamas, having led it to majority rule on 10 January 1967 and to independence on 10 Ju ...
, Prime Minister of The Bahamas and leader of the PLP. He served as Governor General until his death on 22 January 1979 in Nassau.[
Butler is buried at the cemetery next to the nineteenth-century St. Matthew's Anglican Church on Church and Shirley Streets.]
On 14 November 1991, his son Milo Butler Jr. became Speaker of Parliament.
Recognition
In June 1972, Butler was honoured as a National Hero of the Bahamas following a Special Resolution by the Honourable House of Assembly. In 1973, he was appointed as a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St 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) by Queen Elizabeth II. In February 1975, following the Queen's visit to Nassau, he was made a Knight 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, or ...
(GCVO). A bronze statue of Butler designed by Bahamian sculptor Randolph Johnson was unveiled on 22 January 1986 at Rawson Square in downtown Nassau.[ In 2018, he was posthumously awarded the Bahamian Order of National Hero (NH).]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Milo
1906 births
1979 deaths
Governors-General of the Bahamas
Knights Bachelor
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
Progressive Liberal Party politicians
People from Nassau, Bahamas
Labor ministers of the Bahamas