Steadroy "Cutie" Benjamin is an Antiguan lawyer and politician, who is the current minister of Justice and Attorney General of Antigua and Barbuda. He previously served as Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda. A lawyer by training, Benjamin represented

Ivor Bird Ivor Grenville Theophulus Bird is an Antiguan businessman and the son of Vere Bird, former Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda. Bird was a high jumper and he was the last gold medallist in that event at the British West Indies Championships in ...

, the brother of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Lester Bird Sir Lester Bryant Bird KNH (21 February 1938 – 9 August 2021) was an Antigua and Barbuda politician and athlete who served as the second prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda from 1994 to 2004. He was chairman of the Antigua Labour Party (ALP ...

, following his arrest for the attempted smuggling of

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

. He was then returned as 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 ...

for St John's City South, representing Bird's Labour Party, and was re-elected during the 1999 general election with 845 votes, defeating the United Progressive Party candidate Vaughn Walter. He was then sworn in, on 12 March, as Minister of Planning, Implementation and Public Service Affairs. Later that year he was transferred, becoming Minister of Labour, Home Affairs and Co-operatives. In 2001 his position was expanded with the stripping of internal security power from Errol Cort, the

Attorney General of Antigua and Barbuda Appointed by the Governor-General, the Attorney-General of Antigua and Barbuda serves as the primary legal advisor to the Government of Antigua and Barbuda. Background A person must be a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda with the right to practi ...

, and the granting of this portfolio to Benjamin. As Minister for Labour, Benjamin was responsible for introducing the Sir George Walter (Pension and Other Benefits) Act 2002, which sought to grant Sir George Walter, the second Premier of Antigua and Barbuda, and father of the aforementioned Vaughn Walter, a pension of 10,000

East Caribbean dollar The Eastern Caribbean dollar (symbol: EC$; code: XCD) is the currency of all seven full members and one associate member of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). The successor to the British West Indies dollar, it has existed sinc ...

s a month, and announced that non-Antiguans who lived in Antigua for three years or more would not be required to obtain permits to work. Following the 2004 general election, Benjamin was one of only four Labour Party MPs to keep his seat, and was sworn into the new Parliament on 29 March 2004. Although initially supporting

Robin Yearwood Robin Yearwood is an Antiguan politician and member of the Antigua Labour Party (ALP). Entering Parliament in 1976, Yearwood served as Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries in the ALP administration until a cabinet reshuffle in 1987 saw him t ...

as Leader of the Opposition, Benjamin later withdrew his support, as did two other Labour MPs, Gaston Browne and

Asot Michael Asot Michael is the Member of the Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda elected from Saint Peter Constituency. He was also the Minister of Tourism, Economic Development, Investment and Energy under Prime Minister Gaston Browne. He is a member of th ...

; the group suggested Benjamin as a replacement leader. Benjamin was later appointed Leader of the Opposition, overseeing the removal of Lennox Weston from the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, and was later appointed Shadow Minister for justice, legal affairs, the Attorney-General's office and crime.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benjamin, Steadroy Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party politicians Members of the House of Representatives (Antigua and Barbuda) Living people Antigua and Barbuda lawyers Government ministers of Antigua and Barbuda Year of birth missing (living people) Attorneys general of Antigua and Barbuda