Hamilton Lavity Stoutt
Hamilton Lavity Stoutt (7 March 1929 – 14 May 1995) was the first and longest serving Chief Minister of the British Virgin Islands, winning five general elections (1967, 1979, 1986, 1991 and 1995) and serving three non-consecutive terms of office from 1967 to 1971, again from 1979 to 1983 and again from 1986 until his death in 1995. He also served as a parliamentarian in the Legislative Council from 1957 until 1967 prior to the adoption of the 1967 constitution,[1] and at the time of his death was thought to be the longest serving Parliamentarian in the Caribbean.[2] He was a founder of and the leader of the United Party, but after splitting from the party in 1971 went on to found the Virgin Islands Party.
Since Stoutt's death in 1995, a public holiday has been declared annually in his memory on his birthday, 7 March.
The H. Lavity Stoutt Community College in Tortola bears his name. Stoutt himself left school after his primary school education, and obituary writers have suggested that it was his own lack of a formal education which so strongly inspired him to create and promote opportunities for BVIslanders to further their own educations.[3]
During his lifetime, Lavity Stoutt was extremely fond of the quote from Proverbs 29:18 - "Where there is no vision, the people perish", a phrase he would recite frequently when arguing in favour of development projects.[4]
Electoral history
| Year | District | Party | Votes | Percentage | Winning/losing margin | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | 1st District | Non-party election | -- | -- | -- | Won |
| 1960 | 1st District | Non-party election | -- | -- | -- | Won |
| 1963 | 1st District | Non-party election | 215 | 68.0% | +114 | Won |
| 1967 | 1st District | BVI United Party | 221 | 65.4% | +54 | Won |
| 1971 | 1st District | Virgin Islands Party | -- | -- | -- | Won |
| 1975 | 1st District | Virgin Islands Party | 334 | 75.1% | +223 | Won |
| 1979 | 1st District | Virgin Islands Party | 328 | 57% | +72 | Won |
| 1983 | 1st District | Virgin Islands Party | 421 | 53.0% | +85 | Won |
| 1986 | 1st District | Virgin Islands Party | 416 | 64.9% | +203 | Won |
| 1990 | 1st District | Virgin Islands Party | 520 | 85.8% | +464 | Won |
| 1995 | 1st District | Virgin Islands Party | 489 | 68.3% | +292 | Won |
Lavity Stoutt's percentage of the votes and margin of victory in the 1990 general election remain records for a district seat in the British Virgin Islands. Stoutt's 11 electoral victories are also a record (Ralph T. O'Neal has 10 victories, and would tie Stoutt if he runs and wins in the 2015 general election). Stoutt's 38 years as a parliamentarian was a record, but was surpassed by Ralph O'Neal in 2013.[5]
Personal life
Stoutt was born on 7 March 1929 in Long Bay, Tortola. He was the eighth child of Isaiah and Iallia Stoutt. He was married once, and had two sons and three daughters. He was a staunch Methodist, and served as both a Sunday school superintendent and a lay preacher.[6]
Footnotes
- ^ "Lavity Stoutt". Encyclopedia Brittanica. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
- ^ "OBITUARY : H. Lavity Stoutt". The Independent. 23 May 1995.
- ^ "OBITUARY : H. Lavity Stoutt". The Independent. 23 May 1995.
- ^ "Stoutt for BVI". Retrieved 2012-03-04.
- ^ During the early part of Lavity Stoutt's political career elections were held every 3 years in the British Virgin Islands; but they have been held every 4 years throughout Ralph O'Neal's political career, which accounts for the discrepancy. Stoutt's was first elected in April 1957 and died in May 1995, and so served just under 38 years and 2 months. O'Neal was first elected on 1 September 1975, and so passed Lavity Stoutt on or about 1 November 2013.
- ^ "OBITUARY : H. Lavity Stoutt". The Independent. 23 May 1995.
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