In part I of this series, we reviewed some of the qualities that we should expect to find in the holder of the high office of our governor general. During the last two weeks, in parts II and III, we examined some of the special considerations that were made in the selection of our nine governors general, namely Sir John Paul, Sir Milo Butler, Sir Gerald Cash, Sir Henry Taylor and Sir Clifford Darling, Sir Orville Turnquest, Dame Ivy Dumont, the Hon. Arthur Hanna and Sir Arthur Foulkes.
This week in the final part, we would like to Consider this ... what have been the tenures of governors general in other major English-speaking Caribbean countries and what can we learn from their experience? We will examine the experience of Jamaica, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Jamaica
Jamaica obtained its independence on August 6, 1962 and from that time to now has had five Jamaican governors general, excluding Sir Kenneth Blackburne, who served at independence for the period August 6, 1962 to November 30, 1962, or only three months, in a similar manner as Sir John Paul in The Bahamas.
All of Jamaica's governors general were male and only one, Sir Kenneth Hall, resigned from office after serving for only three years. The average length of the other four governors general was eight years, with individual tenures lasting from five to 10 years.
Barbados
Barbados obtained its independence on November 30, 1966 and from that time to now has had seven Barbadian governors general, excluding Sir John Montague Stow, who was the last governor of Barbados and served from October 8, 1959 until November 29, 1966. After Barbados gained independence on November 30, 1966, he was appointed governor general and served until May 18, 1967 in a similar manner as Sir John Paul in The Bahamas and Sir Kenneth Blackburne in Jamaica.
All but one of Barbados' governors general were male, the exception being Dame Nita Barrow, who served as governor general from June 6, 1990 to December 19, 1995 when she died in office. It is interesting that, in addition to Dame Nita, two other governors general died in office, namely Sir Arleigh Winston Scott who served for nine years; and Sir Deighton Lisle Ward who served for a little over seven years.
The longest serving governor general was Sir Clifford Husbands who served for 14 years. The average length of service of the Barbadian governors general was also eight years. The shortest individual tenure -- although it has not yet come to an end -- is the current governor general, Sir Elliott Belgrave, who was appointed on June 1, 2012.
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago obtained its independence from the United Kingdom on August 31, 1962 and opted to keep the office of governor general until 1976, when it decided to become a republic within the British Commonwealth and appoint a president as its head of state, replacing the governor general.
The governor of Trinidad and Tobago at the time of its independence, Sir Solomon Hochoy, served as its first governor general from August 31, 1962 to September 15, 1972. He was succeeded by Sir Ellis Clarke as governor general from September 15, 1976 until Trinidad and Tobago became a republic on August 1, 1976. Sir Ellis then continued in the office of president for the next 11 years, thus serving as the head of state for a total of 15 years.
Since becoming a republic, Trinidad and Tobago has had five presidents and all have been male, serving for between six and 11 years, with an average term in office of 10 years, excluding the incumbent, President Anthony Carmona who was appointed on March 13, 2013.
Lessons to learn
Several instructive lessons can be garnered from the experiences of the Caribbean countries reviewed. First, each of their heads of state was generally acceptable to the citizens of their countries. Secondly, each head of state was a nationalist in his or her own right, having made a definite contribution to the development of their societies.
Personal popularity was not a sufficient credential for their appointment. Each contributed to the national development with their own skills and individual endeavors, not only by association with others who did.
Third, in general, the heads of state were a unifying agent. They were not politically divisive. Fourth, the terms of the heads of state were not driven by changes in the government. In fact, the average term of the head of state for Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago was eight and 10 years, respectively. This compares with an average tenure for our governors general of five years, significantly lower than our Caribbean counterparts.
Finally, each time a governor general demits office, a pension is paid to the retiring head of state for the remaining years of his/her life. The public should be aware that there is a not insignificant cost associated with on-going annual pensions paid to former governors general, which is yet another compelling reason not to appoint governors general at the whim and fancy of chief executives, simply because the latter have been successful at the polls.
The way forward
As he considers who should hold the position of governor general, we would invite the prime minister to establish an exciting -- and all too infrequently used -- paradigm to decide who should hold this most important office: evaluate who actually does the job better rather than choosing who might be more politically palatable, regardless of qualifications or performance.
Perhaps if we did more assessments based on how well a job is actually done rather than on personality, Bahamian institutions might find themselves excelling instead of just getting by. And, make no mistake about it: while it is a great honor to be the governor general, it is also a demanding and high profile job, one which deserves and dictates that it be filled by the most qualified and competent individual, someone acceptable to Bahamians from all walks of life.
The governor general should symbolize all that is good about The Bahamas: our courage in adversity, our capability to withstand and overcome hardship, our dignity in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges and our innate kindness and graciousness towards our fellow human beings, no matter their race, religion, economic status or political persuasion.
The person who serves as governor general must be an individual who is the embodiment of a tried, trusted and true warrior who has proven not only in word, but also by his or her deeds that he or she cares about and believes in The Bahamas.
This person should be one who has worked and will continue to work tirelessly, whether as a resident of Mount Fitzwilliam or not, to ensure a bright and glorious future for our country, a future that will benefit everyone, from all corners of our nation, regardless of who they are or what beliefs they espouse. In short, the person who resides on Mount Fitzwilliam must be a Bahamian's Bahamian. Period.
o Philip C. Galanis is the managing partner of HLB Galanis and Co., Chartered Accountants, Forensic & Litigation Support Services. He served 15 years in Parliament. Please send your comments to pgalanis@gmail.com.

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