We, the undersigned, as representatives of the vast majority of the residents of St. John’s City and
its environs, hereby nominate the Honourable Steadroy Cutie Olivero Benjamin, the Attorney
General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Public Safety, Immigration and Labour for National
Honours to be bestowed upon him.
This fine gentleman has made tremendous outstanding contributions over the past 42 years in the
areas of Politics, Law, Public and Community Service.
IN THE FIELD OF POLITICS
(a) The Honourable Steadroy Cutie Olivero Benjamin is one of the two surviving active
politicians who were Members of Parliament at the time when Antigua and Barbuda
obtained its Independence from Britain on the 1st November, 1981; the other surviving
active politician and Parliamentarian from that era is The Honourable Sir Robin Yearwood.
(b) He was appointed a Senator on 1st November, 1981 and served until 1984. He was
reappointed to the Senate in 1989 and served until 1994; a period all together of 8 years in
the Senate.
(c) In 1994, he was elected to the House of Representatives for the Constituency of St.
John’s City South where he served as Deputy Speaker of the House and Advisor on
National Security until 1999. From 1994 to the present he has been successful at the polls
and returned as the Constituency’s Representative for seven consecutive elections: 1994,
1999, 2004, 2009, 2014, 2018 and 2023. He has never lost his seat in parliamentary
elections.
(d) All together, he has served this country as a Parlimentarian for a period of 38 years. He
served as Minister in various government ministries and is, at present, the country’s
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Public Safety, Immigration and Labour.
He has held these portfolios for the last three consecutive parliamentary terms.
(e) He has been appointed to and acted as Prime Minister on numerous occasions during the
period 2014 to the present.
IN THE FIELD OF LAW
In addition to being an outstanding and eloquent Lawyer, as Attorney General and Minister of
Legal Affairs, the Honourable Steadroy Cutie Benjamin has been in the forefront of legislative
development in Antigua and Barbuda and in the OECS.
(a) He changed the legal architecture in the State of Antigua and Barbuda and is regarded as
one of the Leading Attorneys General and in the OECS;
2
(b) He served as an Executive Member of the Council of Legal Education of the Caribbean
and has had significant inputs into the Legal Education of students of the region.
(c) He has engaged the Council of Legal Education with a view to establishing a Law School
in Antigua and Barbuda to serve qualified students in the state and especially in the OECS.
(d) He oversaw the implementation of the sentencing guidelines for the sub-region which were
launched in Antigua/Barbuda and the OECS.
(e) The pilot programme of the Family Court for the OECS began in Antigua/Barbuda under
his guidance, be it thus so far, only at the level of the Magistracy- the High Court
jurisdiction will soon be established;
(f) Under his stewardship the First Model Criminal Sexual Offences Court had its beginnings
in Antigua/Barbuda; the first in the region.
(g) The Civil Registry was established as an independent stand alone Department in September
2020; the first in the OECS.
(h) The Criminal Prosecution Service as an independent legal entity was also recently
established; again, the first in the OECS.
(i) He piloted several pieces of innovative legislation to include amendments to the Banking
Act which featured prominently in the recent sale of Bank of Nova Scotia in the various
countries in the sub-region and most recently there were amendments to the Companies
Act which provide for the Rehabilitation of an insolvent corporate debtor-such as L.I.A.T
1974 limited;
(j) He pioneered the change in the Standing Orders in the Senate and the House of
Representatives, updating and changing those Standing Orders which were first enacted in
1967.
IN THE FIELD OF PUBLIC SERVICE
(a) He worked as a Junior Clerk in the service of the Government of Antigua and Barbuda
and was attached to the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda at the Newgate Street
Police Station in the late 1960’s before he was transferred to be trained as an Assistant
Air Traffic Control Assistant at the Coolidge Airport, as it was then known.
(b) After graduating as Student of the Year from Cave Hill Campus at the University of the
West Indies in 1974, he was stationed by the government in the Labour Department where
he was a Hearing Officer and the Senior Employment Officer. Further, he assisted the
International Experts then present in Antigua in drafting what is now The Antigua
and Barbuda Labour Code; a model legislation throughout the region.
3
IN THE AREA OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Since the 1980s this Honourable gentleman has been committed to the people of this country and
in particular, to the residents in the City of Saint John and its environs. For over 40 years he
rendered voluntary selfless service to all and sundry.
(1) He has been deeply involved in every sector of the community in the city and has sponsored
the Ovals Basketball Team from 1982 to the present. This team has won more Basketball
championships than any other team in the Basketball League in the nation. He was
honoured some years ago for his commitment to his community and to the development of
Basketball in Antigua and Barbuda.
(2) He established the Belmont Football Team which participates in the National Football
League, Second Division.
(3) He sponsored and assisted scores of young men and women to obtain scholarships to
further their education in a wide variety of specialisations from universities worldwide.
(4) He led and spearheaded the educational team which negotiated with the Council of
the University of the West Indies for the establishment of U.W.I Fourth Landed
Campus at Five Islands. He was largely responsible for the establishment of the
Campus.
(5) He served as a Judge in the Inter-School Debating Competitions in this country and Inter-
Island Debates among the Leeward Islands for many years. He tutored many students and
persons in the art of Public Speaking.
(6) He has been a Judge of Calypsos in Calypso Competitions for many years and his voice
can be heard on Radio yearly, during the Carnival Season analysing the performance of
Calypsonians and the performance of troupes and groups on the road. This he has been
doing for over 35 years.
(7) He taught Criminal Law at the State College and has mentored many young lawyers in
Antigua and Barbuda.
(8) He is a Radio and Television host and personality, and, has voluntarily hosted several
programmes on Television and Radio to include, “The Law and You” and “Justice”.
(9) He was a member of the Jaycees and is a Honourary Member of the Rotary Club.
This award is well deserved for this outstanding national. We trust that this recommendation will
be given favourable consideration.
Respectfully yours,
………………………
KELROY FRITZ
4
THIS WAS ACCOMPANIED BY A PETITION SIGNED BY OVER 50 CONSTITUENTS.
FOR OVER 40 YEARS THE NOMINEE MADE OUTSTANDING VOLUNTARY
CONTRIBUTIONS AND GAVE EXEMPLARY SERVICE TO HIS COMMUNITY IN ST.
JOHN’S AND ITS ENVIRONS IN PARTICULAR AND TO THE NATION IN THE
AREARS OF POLITICS, LAW, PUBLIC AND COMMUNITY SERVICE.
THERE ARE OTHER POLITICIANS AND PARLIAMENTARIANS WHO HAVE
RENDERED DISTINGUISHED SERVICE TO THE NATION. BUT, THE NOMINEE’S
CONTRIBUTIONS HAVE MORE FAR REACHING POSITIVE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS
ON THE NATION, ITS INSTITUTIONS AND ITS FUTURE DEVELOPMENT. THIS IS
ESPECIALLY SO IN THE AREAS OF LAW AND THE LEGAL INFRASTRUCTURE OF
THE NATION WHICH ALSO IMPACT THE OECS.
HIS REVISION OF THE STANDING ORDERS FOR BOTH HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT
IN HISTORIC SINCE THESE STANDING ORDERS HAD BEEN IN EFFECT SINCE
1967 WHEN ANTIGUA ENJOYED THE STATUS OF STATEHOOD IN ASSOCIATION
WITH BRITAIN. AS FOR EDUCATION, HE WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN PERSUADING
THE COUNCIL OF U.W.I TO LOCATE THE FOURTH LANDED CAMPUS AT FIVE
ISLANDS. HIS CONTRIBUTION HAS MADE TERTIARY EDUCATION AVAILABLE
TO ALL QUALIFIED ANTIGUANS AND BARBUDANS FROM ALL SECTIONS OF
OUR SOCIETY. THIS OPPORTUNITY WILL LAST LONG AS THE U.W.I FIVE
ISLANDS CAMPUS EXISTS.
THE CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE EASTERN CARIBBEAN SUPREME COURT, THE
HONOURABLE DAME JANICE PEREIRA RECOGNISED THIS HONOURABLE
GENTLEMAN THROUGHOUT THE REGION ON TELEVISION FOR HIS
COMMITMENT, DEDICATION AND CONTRIBUTION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF
LAW AND THE LEGAL SYSTEM IN THE OECS.
THE PRESIDENT OF INTERPOL, MAJOR GENERAL DR. AHMED NASER AL-RAISI-
HAS COMMENDED HIS STRONG COMMITMENT IN COOPERATING WITH
INTERPOL WITH RESPECT TO LAW ENFORCEMENT WORLDWIDE.
HE HAS BEEN HONOURED BY THE BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION FOR HIS
CONTRIBUTION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF BASKETBALL IN THE NATION AND
FOR HIS SPONSORSHIP OF OVALS BASKETBALL FOR OVER 40 YEARS.
MANY SCHOOLS HAVE PRESENTED PLAQUES TO HIM RECOGNISING HIS
CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARDS THEIR DEVELOPMENT. SIMILAR
COMMENDATIONS WERE RECEIVED FROM SOCIAL CLUBS. AND, IN
RECOGNITION OF HIS VOLUNTARY WORK IN THE ANTIGUAN SOCIETY, HE
WAS MADE AN HONOURARY MEMBER OF THE ROTARY CLUB.
