BASSETERRE, St.Kitts, April 21st 2013 - The People's Action Movement announced today the name of the Special Guest Speaker at the party’s 48th Annual Convention. Mr. Thaddeus Hollis the Chairman of the One Bermuda Alliance in Bermuda, will be this years Special Guest Speaker. Hollis will be following in a long line of esteemed and noted speakers the party has hosted over the years. Some of the more notable Guest presenters over the years include Leader of the Opposition in Barbados Ms Mia Motley, Former Prime Minister of St.Lucia Mr Stephenson King, Former Prime Minister of Jamaica Andrew Hollness and Former Trinidad and Tobago MP Ashworth Jack among others.
The One Bermuda Alliance (OBA) is the ruling political party in Bermuda since December 2012. It is a result of a May 2011 merger of most members of Bermuda's two main opposition parties, the United Bermuda Party and the Bermuda Democratic Alliance.
The United Bermuda Party (UBP) was founded in 1964 and won every Bermuda election until 1998, when it lost to the Progressive Labour Party. The UBP remained the official opposition party until 2011.
The Bermuda Democratic Alliance (BDA) was formed in 2009 by breakaway members of the UBP that believed only a new party could win support from the PLP. It contested one by-election in December 2010, placing third behind the PLP and UBP, with the PLP retaining about the same support level that it had in the 2007 general election.[1] Concern that vote-splitting among the two opposition parties would result in an easy victory for the governing PLP prompted the BDA and UBP to enter merger talks.
The initial intention of UBP and BDA negotiators was to formally merge the two parties, but when UBP leader Kim Swan sought an injunction to block the merger, seven sitting MPs of the UBP quit their former party and joined the three BDA members to become Bermuda's new official opposition on May 17, 2011.
The party held its inaugural leadership convention on September 10, 2011, where the former BDA leader, Senator Craig Cannonier, narrowly won the party leadership over challenger Everard T. (Bob) Richards, the party's shadow finance minister.
The party won the 2012 elections, taking 19 of the 36 seats in the House of Assembly.
Hollis along with Party Leader the Hon. Shawn K. Richards will be the featured speakers at the annual event.
The convention has for the last 47 years been the highlight event for the party’s faithful. It has also been a time of reflection and inspiration as members recall when in 1965 the four original PAM stalwarts (Billy Herbert, Rt. Hon Dr. Sir Kennedy Simmonds, Michael Powell, and Richard Caines) decided that for the love of country they would sacrifice their lives and challenge the Labour Administration of Robert Bradshaw. Other pioneers included Colin Pereira, Cecil “Moonlight” Roberts, Joseph Sutton, Victor Maynard, Richard Shelford, Shefton Warner, and Courtney Dickenson.
The People's Action Movement's 48th Annual Convention takes place on April 28th 2013 at 1:30pm at Party Headquarters
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