Courtney Blackman
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Sir Courtney Newlands McLaurin Blackman, KA (6 March 1933 – 16 March 2021) was a Barbadian
economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this field there are ...
, international
business consultant A business consultant (from Latin ''consultare'', "to discuss") is a professional who provides professional or expert advice or service in a particular area such as security (electronic or physical), management, accountancy, law, human resources, ma ...
, and diplomat. He served as the first Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados from 1972 to 1987. At the time of his appointment, he was the youngest central bank governor in the world.


Early life

Blackman was born on 6 March 1933. Upon completing his studies at Harrison College in 1952, he won a Barbados Exhibition. This financial award allowed him to study Modern History at the University of the West Indies (UWI) in
Mona, Jamaica Mona is a neighbourhood in southeastern Saint Andrew Parish, approximately eight kilometres from Kingston, Jamaica. A former sugarcane plantation, it is the site of a reservoir serving the city of Kingston and the main campus of the Universi ...
, where he earned a BA (hons) in 1956. After graduating, Blackman joined
Alcan Alcan was a Canadian mining company and aluminum manufacturer. It was founded in 1902 as the Northern Aluminum Company, renamed Aluminum Company of Canada in 1925, and Alcan Aluminum in 1966. It took the name Alcan Incorporated in 2001. During t ...
Jamaica Ltd. as a trainee, eventually becoming a personnel manager. In 1958, he decided to become a teacher; over the next five years, he worked at
Kingston College (Jamaica) Kingston College is a all-male secondary school located in Kingston, Jamaica. It occupies two campuses: The Melbourne Park campus on Upper Elletson road and the larger North Street (Clovelly Park) campus. Some 1900 students are enrolled. The scho ...
,
Sekondi College Sekondi College is a co-educational second cycle school in Sekondi in the Western Region of Ghana. It has a science and computer laboratories and other facilities.Its current location is in Inchaban, a suburb of Selondi History It was founded i ...
in
Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
, and his former school Harrison College. In 1963, Blackman entered the
Interamerican University of Puerto Rico The Inter American University of Puerto Rico (Spanish: ''Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico''; often abbreviated to ''UIPR'' or ''Inter'') is a private Christian university with its main campus in San Germán, Puerto Rico. It also has c ...
, where he would graduate with a
Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...
. He received a
Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
from the Graduate School of Business at
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
(
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
) in 1969; he had majored in Money and Banking and minored in International Business. He worked on Wall Street as an Economist from 1968 to 1971 at the now-defunct Irving Trust Company, going on to become Associate Professor of Management at Hofstra University on Long Island, New York.


Career

Blackman served as Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados from June 1972 to March 1987, the longest-serving governor as of 2021. He was offered the position in a 5AM phone call from then-
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 i ...
Errol Barrow Errol Walton Barrow (21 January 1920 – 1 June 1987) was a Barbadian statesman and the first prime minister of Barbados. Born into a family of political and civic activists in the parish of Saint Lucy, he became a WWII aviator, combat ve ...
; Blackman immediately accepted, but later joked that he "would never again accept a job offer while half asleep". He became the youngest central bank governor in the world at the time, at the age of 39 years old. He was responsible for growing the bank's organisation from its initial team of five people, as well as setting monetary policy. As governor, Blackman supervised the 1973 introduction of the
Barbadian dollar The dollar has been the currency of Barbados since 1935. Globally its currency has the ISO 4217 code ''BBD'', however, unofficially in Barbados the International vehicle registration code code BDS is also commonly used, a currency code that is o ...
; although it was initially tied to the
pound sterling Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and ...
, Blackman changed the currency to a
fixed exchange rate A fixed exchange rate, often called a pegged exchange rate, is a type of exchange rate regime in which a currency's value is fixed or pegged by a monetary authority against the value of another currency, a basket of other currencies, or another ...
tied to the
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in 1975. This rate of BDS$2 = US$1 was still in effect at the time of his death; PM
Mia Mottley Mia Amor Mottley, (born 1 October 1965) is a Barbadian politician and attorney who has served as the eighth prime minister of Barbados since 2018 and as Leader of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) since 2008. Mottley is the first woman to hold ...
and later central bank governor Cleviston Haynes credited it with providing economic stability. Blackman also organized the construction of the central bank plaza, which is now the Tom Adams Financial Centre in
Bridgetown Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the capital and largest city of Barbados. Formerly The Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the parish of Saint Michael. Bridgetown is sometimes locally referred to as "The Ci ...
. After retiring from the Central Bank in 1987, Blackman became a business consultant to other governments and international institutions. From 1995 to 2000, he served as Ambassador to the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
and Permanent Representative for Barbados to the Organization of American States. He later became an Honorary Distinguished Fellow at the UWI's
Sir Arthur Lewis Sir William Arthur Lewis (23 January 1915 – 15 June 1991) was a Saint Lucian economist and the James Madison Professor of Political Economy at Princeton University. Lewis was known for his contributions in the field of economic development. ...
Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES).


Personal life

Blackman and his wife Gloria had three sons:
Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austr ...
is a tennis player and coach, while Chris and Keith are television news producers. Blackman was known for correcting erroneous statements or reports made about Barbados in the international community.


Death

Blackman died on 16 March 2021 at the age of 88 in
Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...
,
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, U.S. He was buried at St. David's Anglican Church in
Christ Church, Barbados The parish of Christ Church is one of eleven historic political divisions of Barbados. It has a land area of and is found at the southern end of the island. Christ Church has survived by name as one of the original six parishes created in 1629 b ...
.


Honours

Blackman received an
honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...
from Hofstra University in 1982, and an honorary LLD from the University of the West Indies in 2007. Blackman was awarded the Gold Crown of Merit in 1982. In 1998, he received the highest honour in Barbados: he was made a Knight of St. Andrew (KA) of the
Order of Barbados The Order of Barbados is a Order (distinction), national Order of honours and decorations for Barbados. History The first Order of Barbados was instituted by Queen Elizabeth II by letters patent dated 25 July 1980. With Barbados becoming a republ ...
. In 2017, the Central Bank of Barbados renamed its Grand Salle building as the Courtney Blackman Grand Salle.


Partial bibliography


Books

*''Central Banking in a Dependent Economy: The Jamaican Experience, 1961-1967'' (1969, Ph.D. thesis) *''The Practice of Persuasion: Selected Speeches'' (1982) * ''Central Banking in Theory and Practice: A Small State Perspective'' (1998) * ''The Practice of Economic Management: A Caribbean Perspective'' (2006)


Articles

* "An Eclectic Approach to the Problem of Black Economic Development" (1971) * "The Management of Foreign Exchange Reserves in Small Developing Countries" (1981) * "New Directions for Central Banking in the Caribbean" (1989) * "Tourism and Other Services in the Anglophone Caribbean" (1989) * "An Analytical Framework for the Study of Caribbean Public Enterprise" (1992) * "Financial Accounting for Central Banks - with Special Reference to CARICOM" (1995) * "Finance, Investment and Economic Development: Towards an Investment-Friendly Financial Environment" (2006)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackman, Courtney 1933 births 2021 deaths Interamerican University of Puerto Rico alumni Barbadian knights Ambassadors of Barbados to the United States Permanent Representatives of Barbados to the Organization of American States Governors of the Central Bank of Barbados Barbadian educators Knights and Dames of St Andrew (Barbados) 20th-century economists University of the West Indies alumni