Quick Facts
Biography
Sir Allen Montgomery Lewis GCMG GCVO KStJ (26 October 1909 – 18 February 1993) was a barrister and public servant from Saint Lucia who twice served as the country's Governor-General.
He was born in Castries and was educated at the Castries Anglican Infant and Primary Schools and Saint Mary’s College, Castries. He then studied law at London University and the Middle Temple.
He became a member of Castries City Council in 1941, acting as Chairman six times. He was one of the founders and the first president of the Saint Lucia Labour Party in 1950. Before his appointments to the viceregal post, Sir Allen sat on the legislative council (1943–1951) and was a senator in the West Indian Federal Parliament (1958–1959).
Sir Allen had a distinguished legal career alongside his political accomplishments; he was a judge on the Jamaican Court of Appeal (1962–1967) and the first Chief Justice of the West Indies Associated States Supreme Court (1967–1972). In 1975 he became Chancellor of the University of the West Indies.
In 1972 he returned to Saint Lucia and spent two years establishing a National Development Corporation to develop the economy of the island, after which he was appointed Governor of Saint Lucia, the Queen’s representative and Head of State. When St Lucia gained independence in 1979 he served twice in the equivalent role as Governor-General of Saint Lucia (1979–1980 and 1982–1987).
His brother, W. Arthur Lewis, won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics for his work on developing countries and the "Lewis turning point."
Honours and awards
- 1952 Awarded the Coronation Medal.
- 1968 Made Knight Bachelor.
- 1975 Made a Knight of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem.
- 1977 Awarded the Jubilee Medal.
- 1979 Made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (KCMG)
- 1985 Awarded the Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO).
- 1974 Awarded honorary degree of Doctor of Laws by the University of the West Indies.