Tribute from the Hadeed Family regarding the late Ambassador Sir Ramez Hadeed

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A Tribute to Ambassador Sir Ramez Hadeed, KGCN

It is with much sadness and with heavy hearts that we formally announce the passing of our beloved brother, uncle and great uncle, Ambassador Sir Ramez Fares Hadeed, KGCN. Sir Ramez passed away on the morning of Thursday December 07th 2023 at the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre.

He was 80 years old.

Sir Ramez was among the second set of our family members to arrive in Antigua in the early 1960’s.

He was a teenager, just barely out of high school joining the family general business store located on High Street, F.E Hadeed and Sons, where he excelled and made a name for himself.

He was a visionary; a man endowed with much business acumen and he was the driving force behind much of the early successes that the family
enjoyed.

He was at the forefront of Antigua and Barbuda industrialization programme in the 1970’s and 1980’s.

At one time, he successfully ran two garment manufacturing companies that employed hundreds of mainly young women in this country.

They were taught the skills that later allowed many of them to set up their own cottage industries as seamstresses.

In the 1980’s when government policies sought to take advantage of the opportunities for intra-regional trade, Sir Ramez teamed up with our family member, the late Ray Hadeed from Jamaica to establish Antigua Appliances Industries (AAl) producing stoves and refrigerators for export to Caribbean markets.

Later, he sold his interests in the garment factories and the proceeds were used to establish Finance and Development Company Ltd., which revolutionized the financing of motor vehicles in the country.

This single act allowed ordinary men and women to be able to finance motor vehicles hassle-free and without having to meet stringent loan requirements .

At the time of his passing, he served as Chairman of the Board of the
several companies that sprung from F.E Hadeed and Sons, and which are informally referred to as, the Hadeed Group of Companies. Sir Ramez’s achievements in business have been many and with much impact, but so too have been his generosity and his commitment to Antigua and Barbuda.

Back in late August, 1982, he was named Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Syrian Republic and the United Arab Emirates.

Last year, he marked forty years of unbroken service as a senior Ambassador for Antigua and Barbuda, a feat that is unequalled in the country’s history.

As an ambassador, he has successfully negotiated special financing from the Kuwaiti Fund for Development, the first country in the Caribbean to have done so.

He also helped to allow for investment and development assistance between Antigua and Barbuda and other countries in the Middle East.

Sir Ramez was generous and kind; a man who touched the lives of many ordinary men and women across Antigua and Barbuda.

He has assisted with financing education, medical services and the ‘social good’ such as
the arts and culture.

Whilst he was not born in Antigua and Barbuda, he chose to make this country his home; his love for this twin-island country knew no limit. He was as a true patriot, a true Antiguan and Barbudan.

We are saddened by his passing but we are comforted by the spontaneous outpouring of love and kindness to our family in this sad hour from so many in the society.

Your words of comfort will help to guide us as we navigate the journey ahead without the presence, guidance and wise counsel of our beloved, Ramez.

The Hadeed Family
December 07, 2023

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6 COMMENTS

  1. The Antiguan and Barbudan people are forever grateful to you all for sharing your beloved brother, uncle and great uncle with us. I do not think that anyone would doubt his noble and kind contribution to the economic fabric of Antigua and Barbuda over the years. I had the distinct pleasure of speaking with him a few times and his gentle soft spoken manner was always the highlight of any discussion and was always duly noted and appreciated by me. Sir Ramez made Antigua and Barbuda his home and Antigua and Barbuda loved him. He was indeed a patriot and a wonderful citizen. To you his family members, a grateful nation thank you all for lending him to us and for his service to our twin island nation. May he rest in eternal peace.

  2. It’s amazing to see that most of our successful business men & women only ended with a high school education yet great emphasis is placed on acquiring university degree but only ending up as employees of establishments or owners of very small businesses……… How ironic!!!!
    Condolences to the Hadeed family.

    • @Bluddy Bloke…while cream rises to the top, unless there’s some way, to release the pressures once it(cream) reaches the top, the pressures coming from the bottom will create a #bottleneck_syndrome, at the top.
      There’ll be a #bottleneck_syndrome in the Nation, in seven to ten years, if opportunities are not created for the crème de la crème, of the Nation.
      The #foolish_pride which many of those with only a high school foundation, did not brand themselves with, yet they built solid businesses, will have to be eliminated by the new up and coming breeds, of the well educated.

      Jumbee_Picknee aka Ras Smood
      De ‘ole Dutty Peg🦶🏿Garrat_Bastard

      Vere C. Edwards

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