Zhivargo Laing, born on September 7, 1967, is a Bahamian economic consultant, former

cabinet member This is a list of the offices of heads of state, heads of government, cabinet, and legislature, of sovereign states. Date of Origin refers to most recent fundamental change in form of government, for example independence, change from absolute ...

and former member of 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 ...

for the Marco City Constituency.

Education

As the seventh child of hotel worker Cedric Laing FNM Biography of Zhivargo Laing
, (1/23/2010). and former Senator Naomi Seymour, he grew up on

Grand Bahama Grand Bahama is the northernmost of the islands of the Bahamas, with the town of West End located east of Palm Beach, Florida. It is the third largest island in the Bahamas island chain of approximately 700 islands and 2,400 cays. The island is ...

. He attended Lewis Yard Primary School and Hawksbill High School before moving to Nassau, where he attended 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 ...

(COB). Later, he was enrolled at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...

, Canada, graduating with a Bachelor of Art's Degree in Agro-economics.FNM Bio on Zhiv
, (1/23/2011). Laing went on to pursue graduate courses at

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

, concentrating on business administration.

Career

After returning to the Bahamas in 1989, Laing served as an investment analyst in the Bahamas Investments Authority, located under the Office of the

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 ...

. As a public officer, he represented the Bahamas overseas on several occasions and pursued an in-service training award in Japan. He also served as a diplomatic officer at the

Embassy of the Bahamas in Washington, D.C. A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...

, and as a representative of the Bahamas at the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...

(OAS). He previously served as the president of the College of the Bahamas (COB) Union of Students and a youth minister of Calvary Temple Baptist Assembly of God Church on Grand Bahama. He also founded "Youth Who Care", a community-based organization, and later served as its President. In 1993, he was appointed by the government as a member of the Consultative Committee on National Youth Development. He was sworn in as the Minister of State in the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture in March 1997 and appointed Minister of State for Education and Youth in January 2000.Zhivargo Laing on bahamas.gov.bs
(1/23/2011). Laing is the Chairman of the Board of Governors at the

Caribbean Development Bank The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is a financial institution that helps Caribbean nations finance social and economic programs in its member countries. CDB was established by an Agreement signed on October 18, 1969, in Kingston, Jamaica, and ent ...

and the Governor of the

Inter-American Development Bank The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB) is an international financial institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America, and serving as the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribb ...

.Zhivargo Laing on businessweek.com
(1/23/2011). He is married to Zsa Zsa LaRoda. They have three sons and a daughter. He has written a weekly column called "Straight Up Talk" for ''The Tribune'' (Nassau) and hosted "Public Affairs Corner", a talk show, on Mix 105.9 FM. He has also published three books: *''College, Career and Money – A Guide for Teens and Young Adults'' (with David Burrows), Pneuma Life (2004) *''A Trust Out of this World'', Thompson-Shore (2004) *''Who Moved My Conch – Understanding Free Trade Agreements'', Media He currently operates a private consulting firm.

References

External links

Zhivargo Laing Consulting: Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laing, Zhivargo Members of the House of Assembly of the Bahamas Living people University of Western Ontario alumni George Washington University School of Business alumni People from Grand Bahama 1967 births Free National Movement politicians Culture ministers of the Bahamas Youth ministers of the Bahamas Sports ministers of the Bahamas