George Cecil Rawle Moe CHB (12 March 1932 – 16 August 2004) was a Barbadian judge and politician.

Early life

He was born in Barbados to Cecil and Odessa (née Marshall) Moe and educated at Harrison College,

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

and

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, where he was awarded L.L.M. He studied law and was called to the bar at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

in London.

Career

Moe began his legal career in his native Barbados, where his positions including Magistrate, Acting Assistant Legal Draughtsman, and

Crown Counsel Crown counsel are lawyers, generally in Common Law jurisdictions, who provide advice to the government and acts as prosecutors in cases. In various jurisdictions their title can vary and they could also be known as the Queen's Advocate, King's Advo ...

and Senior Crown Counsel in the Attorney General's Chambers. In the early 1970s he served as

Permanent Representative of Barbados to the United Nations The Permanent Representative of Barbados to the United Nations is in charge of the Barbados's diplomatic mission to the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, United States of America. The current office holder is Keith Hamilton Lewellyn Mar ...

. He then went on to serve as Attorney General, Minister of Legal Affairs, and Minister of External Affairs under

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 ...

from 1971 to 1976. His career then took him out of his native country to

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

, where he served as Chief Justice from 1982 to 1985. He was the second Barbadian to hold that post, after Erskine Ward from 1955 to 1957. Following that, he joined the Court of Appeal of the

Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) is a superior court of record for the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), including six independent states: Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Ne ...

on 1 September 1985, where he sat until his retirement on 31 October 1991.

Personal life

He married Olga Louise Atkinson and with her had two sons and a daughter. He was named a Companion of Honour of Barbados in 1992. He died in

Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Bridgetown The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (Q.E.H.) is located in Barbados' capital city Bridgetown, which is located in the parish of Saint Michael. The hospital is the main General Hospital for the southern part of the island. The hospital can perform most ...

at the age of 72 after a lengthy illness, and was given a state funeral at the

Christ Church Parish Church The current Christ Church Parish Church located in Church Hill, Barbados, Church Hill, Christ Church, Barbados, Christ Church, Barbados was built in 1935 and is the fifth Church of England parish church, parish church on the site. At various times ...

. He was survived by his wife Olga and his children Stephen and Lucille.

References

External links

George Mo: A life in politics & the law
an audio documentary available from the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moe, George 1932 births 2004 deaths Alumni of the University of Oxford Members of the Middle Temple Attorneys-General of Barbados Chief justices of Belize Columbia Law School alumni Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court justices People educated at Harrison College (Barbados) Permanent Representatives of Barbados to the United Nations Barbadian judges Barbadian judges on the courts of Belize Barbadian judges of international courts and tribunals