William Alexander Scott (born 1940) is a politician in

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

who is the MP for the

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

South East constituency. Between 2003 and 2006 he served as the

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

of Bermuda and leader of the Progressive Labour Party (PLP).

Early life

The son of Willard Scott and Edith Lucille Scott of Khyber Pass, Warwick, Scott grew up in Warwick and attended Purvis Primary School, Berkeley Institute and

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, where he obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree. He subsequently worked a graphic designer and a design consultant and ran Scotts Crafts Limited, an advertising and public relations firm he started in 1964.

Political career

Scott's political career began in 1985 when he was appointed to 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 ...

; in 1989, he was promoted to Opposition Leader in the Senate. In 1993 he successfully ran for Parliament for the Warwick East constituency. In 1998, during the PLP's unprecedented win in Parliament, he was appointed to Cabinet as the Minister of Works & Engineering. Perhaps the most memorable event of his term was the construction of a new high school campus for the Berkeley Institute, a project with suffered significant overruns, contracting irregularities and work delays. He was appointed Premier (and, thus, leader of the PLP) on 29 July 2003. The party had been re-elected in that year's parliamentary elections, but its leader, Dame

Jennifer Meredith Smith Dame Jennifer Meredith Smith, DBE, JP, DHumL, MP (born 1947) was the Premier of Bermuda from 1998 until 2003, the first premier who was not a member of the United Bermuda Party. Affectionately referred to as "Dame Jennifer", she has marked h ...

, was overthrown hours after the election results were certified when a schism in the elected members of the party surfaced. With the two sides split 13 members each, Smith agreed to step aside with Scott as the compromise leader. The hallmarks of his premiership were the promotion of a Social Agenda and the launch of an unpopular drive for

Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Supporters believed he wished to spread Bermuda's wealth among the population, while critics charged that the Scott administration was racially divisive, autocratic, and lacked accountability. Scott was never successful in unifying the factions in the party and he was ousted, by a vote of 107-76, in a leadership challenge by his Deputy Premier, Dr.

Ewart Brown Ewart Frederick Brown Jr. (born 1946) is a politician and physician who served as the ninth Premier of Bermuda and leader of the country's Progressive Labour Party (PLP) from 2006 to 2010. He represented Warwick South Central as a Member of P ...

, during a PLP delegates conference on 27 October 2006. He was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services to Bermuda.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Alex 1940 births Living people Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Bermudian justices of the peace Progressive Labour Party (Bermuda) politicians Premiers of Bermuda