NASSAU, The Bahamas – Her Excellency Dame Ivy Dumont officially retired Wednesday, November 30 as The Bahamas’ sixth Governor-General and the first female to hold the nation’s highest office.
Dame Ivy Dumont, 75, ended four years as Head of State with an address to a joint session of Parliament in the Senate chamber and a final salute and inspection of a combined Guard of Honour of the Royal Bahamas Police and Defence Forces.
Following the official farewell ceremony on her demission of office, members of the Senate and the House of Assembly met separately and paid tribute to Dame Ivy for her 57-plus years of public service, the last four of which she spent as Governor-General.
In a brief farewell Speech from the throne, Dame Ivy thanked Bahamians for the privilege to serve them.
“My expressions of gratitude to the Government and people of The Bahamas cannot convey the true depth of the emotions that have buoyed my spirits over these years, as I have discharged the constitutional, legal, advisory and social roles of the Governor-General’s Office,” Dame Ivy said.
Dame Ivy said she was able to achieve three major objectives from her tour of duty — maintain relationships with students and youth groups, encourage volunteerism, and emphasize the importance of family.
A fourth objective was added, after she and her husband, Mr. Reginald Dumont moved into Government House on Mount Fitzwilliam in January 2002 – to restore, renovate, rehabilitate and redecorate the physical structure, with particular reference to the public areas.
And to the extent to which those objectives have been met, Dame Ivy thanked all involved, and those who prayed for her health and well-being.
She said that she and her husband have been privileged to live, and she to work at Government House.
“We go now to our little house, leaving behind the pomp and pageantry, to greet each new day with praise and thanks to God for the beauty of life, the joy of salvation and the peace of the indwelling Holy Spirit,” Dame Ivy said.
Dame Ivy was greeted upon her arrival in Parliament Square by Chief Justice Sir Burton Hall, Secretary to the Cabinet Wendal Major, Provost Marshall and Commissioner Paul Farquharson, Commodore of the Defence Force Davy Rolle and Acting Chief of Protocol Andrew McKinney.
She was given a royal salute by the Guard of Honour mounted on Bay Street under the command of Assistant Superintendent of Police Kevin P. Rolle, and escorted into the Senate by Commissioner Farquharson and Commodore Rolle.
At the conclusion of her address, Dame Ivy, flanked by Members of the House of Assembly and the Senate, was given another royal salute and inspected the Guard of Honour. She was also presented with a bouquet of flowers by Vinisa Beneby, a nine-year-old grade four student of St. John’s College.
Dame Ivy then bid farewell to Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Perry G. Christie and Mrs. Christie, Chief Justice Sir Burton, Provost Marshall and Commissioner Farquharson, Commodore Rolle and Mr. McKinney, Acting Chief of Protocol.
Dame Ivy was confirmed as Governor-General on January 1, 2002, succeeding Sir Orville Turnquest.
She was born on October 2, 1930 at Rose’s, Long Island. She attended the Government High School in New Providence from 1942 to 1948. A trained teacher, she received The Bahamas Teacher’s Certificate in 1954. Dame Ivy went on to attain an impressive list of accomplishments: a Bachelor of Education degree in 1970, a Master of Public Administration degree in 1977, and a Doctorate in Public Administration in 1978.
She is a founding member and secretary-general of the Bahamas Union of Teachers.
Dame Ivy was sworn in as Minister of Health and Environment on August 24, 1992, following the Free National Movement’s victory in the August 19 General Election. She served as Minister of Education and Training in 1995, and was re-appointed Minister of Education on March 18, 1997. She retired from that post in January 2001. Subsequently, she was appointed chairman of the Public Service Commission and retired on December 31, 2001.
Dame Ivy is a member of Emmanuel Gospel Chapel.
She is married to Reginal Dean Dumont, a retired police inspector and prices control inspector. They have a son, Cheddi and a daughter, Edda.
