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Sir John William David Swan • (b. 1935)

courtesy the royal gazette

Sir John Swan was Bermuda’s longest serving Premier, as well as a successful
real estate developer and entrepreneur. Born in 1935, John Swan founded the
John W. Swan Ltd. real estate development company in 1962. Between 1968
and 1978 his company developed an estimated 40% of the homes in Bermuda,
allowing many Bermudians to own a home for the first time.
He became a United Bermuda Party MP in 1972, and as Minister for Home Affairs
he was highly influential in introducing social reforms after the race riots of 1977.
Sir John’s genius lay in his ability to garner support for his initiatives from widely
different segments of the population. He managed to convince Bermuda’s mainly white
business leaders of the importance of his housing and education initiatives, which were
met with enthusiasm from the black community from which he himself came.

Sir John became Premier on January 15, 1982 and served for thirteen and a half
years, resigning on August 25, 1995. In 1986 he reached an agreement at the USA/
Bermuda Tax Convention which helped establish Bermuda as a major offshore
financial centre. This led to international business becoming the main driving
force of the Bermuda economy.
Assessment
Sir John later pushed for Bermudian independence from Britain, and in 1995 he Indicator
called for a referendum. He believed that many Bermudians, particularly black Write a song, poem or rap
Bermudians, desired independence. However, the opposition Progressive Labour about everything Sir John
Party opposed the referendum and the United Bermuda Party was divided on it. Of W. D. Swan did.
the 58% of the population who participated in the referendum, 74% voted against
independence. As he had promised to do if the referendum failed, John Swan
resigned from office.
Sir John Swan has held many other distinguished positions such as Chairman of
the Bermuda Hospitals Board, Director of the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce,
Director of the Bermuda Employer’s Council and was a founding member of the
Bermuda Monetary Authority. For his outstanding service to the country Sir John
was knighted in 1990, and was designated a Bermuda National Hero in 2016.

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