Nominated President of Barbados, Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Davidson Bostic, intends to take his pandemic-era mantra of “no retreat, no surrender” into a role built on ceremony, not power.
While making it clear he would not speak in detail on the nomination until it is ratified by Parliament, he stressed that the mantra, widely associated with his leadership during the COVID-19 crisis, will stay with him.
“That is within me, that comes from within me, that is something that will remain with me. There are some other things that I want to develop, but I will save those until later, but yes, that mantra is embedded in me,” the retired Member of Parliament for The City of Bridgetown told Barbados TODAY on Wednesday.
On the nomination itself, he expressed clear joy.
“I am indeed elated at the nomination to become the second president of Barbados,” he said. “But I’ve been restrained in engaging the press because it’s only a nomination and there is a process which is ongoing. I’m very happy, but I have to respect the process and the Parliament of Barbados, because it still has to be ratified.”
Lt Col Bostic, who received the island’s highest honour – the Order of Freedom of Barbados — in 2022, added: “It really is an exciting time and an opportunity once more to be of service to the people of Barbados; and that is something that I am looking forward to, as long as it is ratified by Parliament.”
The retired military officer is set to be sworn in as Barbados’ next Head of State on Independence Day, succeeding Dame Sandra Mason, the former jurist and diplomat, whose four-year term ends on November 29.
The 64-year-old presidential nominee became the public face of Barbados’ COVID-19 response, earning national honours and widespread respect across the region and diaspora. His leadership during the pandemic – marked by a defiant, no-nonsense, military-style focus – came as the country faced over 600 deaths and thousands of infections.
His leadership during the global health crisis, up to his retirement from the ministerial post in January 2022, earned him several accolades.
Bostic was credited with helping to keep the country calm and focused during the height of the pandemic, a time marked by widespread uncertainty and fear.
The retired army officer, who served as a Cabinet Minister in the Mia Mottley administration from 2018 to 2022, is expected to receive full approval as President when a joint session of the House of Assembly and Senate convenes on October 7.
The announcement of his appointment came on Tuesday in Parliament, when Deputy Speaker Neil Rowe read correspondence from Prime Minister Mia Mottley confirming Bostic as the joint nominee of both herself and Opposition Leader Ralph Thorne.
During his military career, Bostic served as director of operations at the Regional Security System before retiring from the Barbados Defence Force in 2006. He entered politics in 2013 and won his first election, representing the City of Bridgetown in the House of Assembly.
emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb
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