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Lemuel Hurlston retired in 1995 after 26 years of service, rising through promotions to the position of Chief Secretary and Deputy Governor, one of the highest posts in the Cayman Islands Government. He was appointed an official member of the Legislative Assembly in 1986 at the relatively young age of 35. He retired from the civil service at the age of 44. Now, twenty-one years into semi-retirement and 65 years of age, he has decided to write this autobiography. Along the way, the author has lived through much of the early development of the Cayman Islands from the 1950s onward. He was the Deputy Financial Secretary when Vassel Johnson, later Sir Vassel, retired in 1982 and had been one of the research analysts for the publication of The Cayman Islands Economic and Financial Review (1982), covering data for the early years of 1904-1981. Johnson was a mentor for Hurlston. In 1997, upon the retirement of Sir Vassel Johnson, CBE, JP, Mr. Hurlston, once more following in Mr. Johnson's footsteps, was named Managing Director of Montpelier Properties (Cayman) Limited. He holds a number of directorships within this group. Incidentally, he was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1983 at age 32 and has twice been honoured by Her Majesty the Queen, first in 1989 with the award of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE), and again in 1994 with the Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO). He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University College of the Cayman Islands (UCCI) in 2012. Mr. Hurlston is a former Director of Sagicor Life of the Cayman Islands Limited, a former shareholder and Director of Lloyd Christie Insurance Agency Limited, and a former Director of Caribbean Utilities Company, the Cayman Islands National Insurance Company (CINICO), the Maritime Authority (2007-2011), as well as the first Chairman of the National Roads Authority (2004-2007). In 2007, he was appointed as a Commissioner of the Civil Service Appeals Commission and in 2009 was appointed Chairman of the Immigration Work Permit Board until he was appointed Chairman of the Water Authority in 2010. Most recently, he was reappointed a member of the Labour Appeals Tribunal in 2015. In January 2016, he accepted an appointment as Chairman of BAF Insurance Company (Cayman) Limited. Active in community service, Mr. Hurlston is a past President of the Kiwanis Club of Grand Cayman, a past Chairman of the National Council of Voluntary Organizations, and President of the Justices of the Peace Association. He is also a founding member of the Civil Service Credit Union and served for several terms as its Treasurer and President. He has also served as the Cayman Islands representative for the British Executive Service Overseas (BESO) and served as a Councillor for the Chamber of Commerce between 1998-2000. Since 2011, he has been appointed the Honorary Representative of the Royal Commonwealth Society for the Cayman Islands, succeeding the Honourable Justice Charles Quin QC. He chaired the committee that in 2011 carried out a review of the (UK) 1999 White Paper, "Partnership for Progress and Prosperity," and served as Vice Chairman of the committee that planned the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012. In 2011, he became a director of the non-profit Bridge Foundation, providing transitional housing to Caymanians in recovery that are in need of a halfway house. He chaired the Minimum Wage Advisory Committee, appointed in 2014. He was appointed Chairman of the Board of Governors of the University College of the Cayman Islands in April 2015. Mr. Hurlston is a Trustee of Saint George's Anglican Church. He was educated at Calabar High School, Jamaica, and Wandsworth College, London. Married to Marcia, the Hurlstons are parents to two children, John Paul and Kendra, and they have three grandchildren, Jaida, Hailee and Zoe. |
