{"id":22452,"date":"2018-12-09T12:35:36","date_gmt":"2018-12-09T16:35:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=22452"},"modified":"2018-12-09T12:35:37","modified_gmt":"2018-12-09T16:35:37","slug":"ceremonies-to-celebrate-national-hero-sir-vere-cornwall-bird","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ceremonies-to-celebrate-national-hero-sir-vere-cornwall-bird\/","title":{"rendered":"Ceremonies to celebrate national hero Sir Vere Cornwall Bird"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The citizens of Antigua and Barbuda are celebrating the life and work of National Hero and the Father of the Nation, Sir Vere Cornwall Bird with activities on Sunday\u00a0\u00a0\u2013 December 9 that has been<\/g> declared as a public holiday each year to honur<\/g> the late leader.<\/p>

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According to officials with the festival commission, 20 individuals will be honored at a banquet for their work in the union and in the 17 constituencies across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Monday, that has also been declared as a public holiday, the Commemoration and Wreath Laying ceremony will be held at the bust of Sir Vere on Market Street in St. John\u2019s.<\/p>

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 Sir Vere, who was born on December 9, 1910 and died on June 28, 1999, is revered as the Father of the Nation and holds the distinction of being the first premier and the first prime minister of the twin-island nation.  <\/p>

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The government statement said Sir Vere became the first and only chief minister of Antigua and Barbuda; was the first and last premier; and led the country to independence in 1981, serving as prime minister until 1994. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHis fierce patriotism and commitment to the working class are legendary, as was his dedication to regionalism,\u201d the statement said. <\/p>

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\u201cSir Vere \u201cardently supported\u201d the West Indies Federation, and when it collapsed in 1962, he was at the forefront in negotiations for the \u2018Little Eight\u2019 countries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1965, along with premiers Errol Barrow of Barbados and Forbes Burnham of Guyana, Sir Vere led the introduction of the Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA).<\/p>

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CARIFTA eventually led to the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM).<\/p>

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Sir Vere received Antigua and Barbuda\u2019s highest honor, Knight of the Order of National Hero, in 1994 and 1998,   he received the Order of the Caribbean Community, the region\u2019s highest honor.  <\/p>\n

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The citizens of Antigua and Barbuda are celebrating the life and work of National Hero and the Father of the Nation, Sir Vere Cornwall Bird with activities on Sunday\u00a0\u00a0\u2013 December 9 that has been declared as a public holiday each year to honur the late leader. According to officials with the festival commission, 20 individuals […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nCeremonies to celebrate national hero Sir Vere Cornwall Bird - Antigua News Room<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ceremonies-to-celebrate-national-hero-sir-vere-cornwall-bird\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ceremonies to celebrate national hero Sir Vere Cornwall Bird\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The citizens of Antigua and Barbuda are celebrating the life and work of National Hero and the Father of the Nation, Sir Vere Cornwall Bird with activities on Sunday\u00a0\u00a0\u2013 December 9 that has been declared as a public holiday each year to honur the late leader. 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