Picewell A. L. "Soca" Forbes (born 1 August 1961) is a Bahamian former

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 Tay ...

politician and broadcaster who was the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for Mangrove Cay and South Andros from 2007 to 2021.

Early life and education

Forbes was born in Smith's Hill,

South Andros South Andros is a district of the nation of the Bahamas. Geographically, South Andros is the southernmost third of the land mass colloquially called Andros, which includes the districts of North Andros, Central Andros, Mangrove Cay and South Andr ...

. He obtained a Certificate in Electronics from the

College of the Bahamas A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

before going on to graduate with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from 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 1991 and later a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

from

Nova Southeastern University Nova Southeastern University (NSU or, informally, Nova) is a private nonprofit research university with its main campus in Davie, Florida. The university consists of 14 total colleges, centers, and schools offering over 150 programs of study. ...

in 2004.

Career

Prior to going into politics, Forbes worked in radio and broadcasting. He was a Deputy General Manager at the Broadcasting Corporation of the Bahamas. He hosted a number of talk shows on the Bahamas Radio Network and ZNS Radio, as well as ''Da Down Home Show'' on television. Forbes was elected to represent South Andros in the 2007 general election when the PLP won, with Forbes earning the highest margin of the vote of any candidate. Forbes received some negative media attention when he mistakenly caused a

mistrial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, w ...

in the 2009 John Travolta extortion case by passing on an unverified rumour of the result. Forbes apologised, thus no charges were pressed. Then PLP PM

Perry Christie Perry Gladstone Christie PC, MP (born 21 August 1943) is a Bahamian former politician who served as Prime Minister of the Bahamas from 2002 to 2007 and from 2012 to 2017. He is the second longest-serving Bahamian elected parliamentarian (beh ...

appointed Forbes the Bahamas High Commissioner to the CARICOM secretariat in

Georgetown, Guyana Georgetown is the capital (political), capital and largest city of Guyana. It is situated in Demerara-Mahaica, region 4, on the Atlantic Ocean coast, at the mouth of the Demerara River. It is nicknamed the "Garden City of the Caribbean." It is t ...

in 2012. He worked remotely from

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), ...

. Forbes was one of four PLP candidates to win or retain their seat in the 2017 general election. On 1 March 2021, Forbes announced in the

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

that he would not seek reelection in the 2021

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

and would resign from politics. There was speculation he was persuaded to stand down for Monique Pindling, but these claims were denied and the nomination ultimately went to Leon Lundy. In July 2021, Forbes was sworn in as a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

by Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt.

Personal life

Forbes is married to Drucilla Forbes nee Wallace. He is the father of four children and is a member of the Church of God.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forbes, Picewell Living people 1961 births Justices of the peace High Commissioners of the Bahamas Members of the Parliament of the Bahamas Nova Southeastern University alumni People from South Andros Progressive Liberal Party politicians Talk radio hosts Bahamian television presenters University of the Bahamas alumni University of the West Indies alumni