William "Bill" Cartwright (c. 1923 – June 7, 2012) was a Bahamian

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

realtor A real estate agent or real estate broker is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and agen ...

and

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

. Cartwright, together with Sir

Henry Milton Taylor Sir Henry Milton Taylor (4 November 1903 – 14 February 1994) was the fourth governor-general of the Bahamas, serving from February 28, 1991 to January 2, 1992. Biography Sir Henry, the adopted son of Joseph J. Taylor and Evelyn Taylor, w ...

and Cyril Stevenson, co-founded 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 Tay ...

(PLP) in 1953, the first national

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 ...

to be established in the Bahamas. He was the last surviving member of the PLP's three founders. Cartwright was a native of

Long Island, Bahamas Long Island is an island in The Bahamas that is split by the Tropic of Cancer. It is one of the Districts of the Bahamas and is known as the most scenic island in the Bahamas. Its capital is Clarence Town. The population of Long Island is 3,094 in ...

. He was elected to the

Bahamas House of Assembly The Parliament of the Bahamas is the bicameral national parliament of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The parliament is formally made up of the sovereign (represented by the governor-general), an appointed Senate, and an elected House of Ass ...

, the lower house of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, in 1949 as a representative of Cat Island. He served in parliament for seven years. In 1953, Cartwright joined with Sir

and Cyril Stevenson to found the

(PLP), the first national

in the Bahamas. Outside politics Cartwright worked as a

before becoming a magazine publisher later in life. Cartwright resided at the Good Samaritan Home 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), ...

for the final two years of his life. He died at Princess Margaret Hospital in Nassau at 4 a.m. on June 7, 2012, at the age of 89. Bahamas Governor-General

Arthur Foulkes Sir Arthur Alexander Foulkes (born 11 May 1928) is a politician who was the ninth governor-general of the Bahamas from 2012 to 2014. Foulkes was elected to the House of Assembly in 1967 and served in the government of Lynden Pindling as Ministe ...

had visited Cartwright three weeks before his death.

Prime Minister of the Bahamas The prime minister of the Bahamas is the head of government of the Bahamas. The prime minister is formally appointed into office by the governor-general of the Bahamas, who represents Charles III, the king of the Bahamas (the Bahamian head of s ...

and leader of the PLP,

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 ...

, presented a speech in honor of Cartwright to the Assembly, calling him a "national hero" who contributed a "historical role he had played in laying the foundations for party politics in The Bahamas."

Loretta Butler-Turner Loretta Butler-Turner is a Bahamian mortician and politician. She was the Leader of the Opposition in the Bahamian Parliament from December 2016 to May 2017. Early life Loretta Butler-Turner was born in Nassau, Bahamas to Rose Marie (née T ...

, the deputy leader of the opposition

Free National Movement The Free National Movement (abbreviated FNM) is a political party in The Bahamas formed in the early 1970s, led by Sir Cecil Wallace Whitfield. The current leader of the party is Michael Pintard and his deputy Peter Turnquest. It dominated the ...

(FNM) and MP for Cartwright's native Long Island, said that "He is in his own right a founder of the modern Bahamas." Butler-Turner also called for the establishment of a national

oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people wh ...

project A project is any undertaking, carried out individually or collaboratively and possibly involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular goal. An alternative view sees a project managerially as a sequence of even ...

following Cartwright's death to preserve the modern, social and national history and national identity of the country.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cartwright, William 2012 deaths Progressive Liberal Party politicians Real estate brokers Magazine publishers (people) 1920s births Members of the House of Assembly of the Bahamas People from Long Island, Bahamas Bahamian businesspeople