John William David Swan

Sir John Swan, 2007

Sir John William David Swan KBE (born July 3, 1935 in Bermuda ) is a Bermudian politician of the United Bermuda Party (UBP), which was Prime Minister between 1982 and 1995 .

Life

MP, Home Secretary and Prime Minister

Swan, who came from the colored majority, worked as a realtor and became a millionaire. He was elected as a candidate for the United Bermuda Party by Prime Minister Edward Richards in the June 1972 elections for the first time as a member of the House of Assembly . In 1978 he was appointed Minister of the Interior in his cabinet by Prime Minister David Gibbons , of which he was a member until 1982.

On January 15, 1982, Swan succeeded Gibbons as Prime Minister himself. Previously, the leadership of the UBP had decided to entrust him as a member of the colored majority with the chairmanship of the UBP. In the period that followed, he introduced a series of social reforms, while on the other hand, as an economist, he campaigned for the predominantly white group of business managers in Bermuda. In the elections of February 4, 1983, the UBP was again the winner and received 27,081 votes (56.6 percent), which they could increase the number of its parliamentary seats by four seats to 26. The opposition Progressive Labor Party (PLP) won 20,765 votes (43.4 percent) and lost four seats, leaving only 14 parliamentarians. UBP also emerged as the clear winner in the October 1985 elections. This time she was able to extend her lead even further and received 22,368 votes (62.5 percent). This gave it five more seats and had a clear absolute majority with 31 seats in the 40-person House of Assembly. The Progressive Labor Party only got 10,930 votes (30.54 percent) and lost half of its previous seats, so that it could only have seven MPs. The newly formed National Liberal Party received 2,486 votes (6.95 percent) and had two MPs.

Elections in 1989 and 1993

In the February 1989 elections, however, the United Bermuda Party suffered a first defeat and lost eight seats with 21,174 votes (50 percent), but still had an absolute majority with 23 seats. The eight seats went to the Progressive Labor Party, which this time sent 15 members to the meeting house with 15,548 votes (36.71 percent). The National Liberal Party was able to improve its voting result to 4,166 votes (9.84 percent), but lost one of its two seats. This went to a non-party who received 1,464 (3.46 percent). One reason for the electoral defeat was Swan's political course at the time, which departed from the traditionally conservative direction of the UBP's white electorate. However, this led to the fact that numerous several colored MPs lost their seats in the House of Assembly. He then returned to the traditional UBP course after the election. Nonetheless, Bermuda remained wealthy. Although Bermuda was a British overseas territory where the governor was responsible for foreign and defense policy and internal security, few governors intervened against the UBP's political course.

The elections of October 1993 meant that only two parties were represented in the House of Assembly. The United Bermuda Party Swans, which was knighted as Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 1990 , was able to maintain its absolute majority with 25,527 votes (50.51 percent), but had 22 MPs, one less MP than before. The Progressive Labor Party was able to improve to 23,168 votes (45.84 percent). As a result, she gained three seats and now had 18 members of the meeting house.

1995 independence referendum and resignation

At this time, the aspirations for independence from the United Kingdom also grew . During 1994, Swan began supporting this idea. He called an independence referendum for August 1995, the outcome of which he linked with his further political career. The opposition Progressive Labor Party, which normally supported Bermuda's independence, saw its chance to overthrow Swan. She therefore called for people to stay away from the referendum or to vote no. The UBP, on the other hand, did not take an official position on the referendum and partly feared a further separation of the different population groups.

The turnout in the independence referendum on August 16, 1995 was just 22,236 votes (58.76 percent). Only 5,714 voters (25.88 percent) voted for independence, while 16,369 voters (74.12 percent) voted against independence from the UK. The vast majority of the white electorate decided against independence, while the colored voters split. On August 25, 1995 Swan resigned from his post as Prime Minister and was replaced by his fellow party member David Saul .

1997, there was a controversy when Swan a McDonald's - fast food restaurant would open in Bermuda. A large part of the population feared that opening it could endanger the image as a high-priced tourist destination. In fact, a 1997 special law thwarted the plan.

Web links

• Short biography in rulers.org
• Bermuda at rulers.org