Sir Lynden Pindling

Lynden Oscar Pindling was born on 22 March 1930 in Nassau, Bahamas, and grew up working in his father's small grocery store before travelling to England to study law at the University of London, where he became involved with the newly formed Progressive Liberal Party by 1953.

Pindling was elected to the Bahamian House of Assembly in 1956 and became the first Leader of the Opposition in 1964, building a political movement that challenged the white minority rule that had long dominated Bahamian politics and economy.

In January 1967 Pindling became the first Black Premier of the Bahama Islands, a historic breakthrough for majority rule, and he went on to lead the colony to full independence from Britain on 10 July 1973, becoming the Bahamas' first Prime Minister.

Pindling served as Prime Minister for nearly 26 years, one of the longest tenures of any head of government in the Commonwealth, overseeing the Bahamas' transformation into a major tourism and offshore financial centre while holding the additional portfolio of Minister of Finance for much of his tenure.

Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1983, Pindling resigned in 1992 and retired from politics in 1997; he is remembered as the 'Father of the Nation', with Nassau's international airport renamed in his honour and his portrait placed on the Bahamian one-dollar note.