BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – WHILE all recipients of this year’s Medal of Honour and Star of Merit Awards went bestowed on women, Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Timothy S. Harris has expressed his wish to see women added to the Federation’s list of National Heroes.
Legislation provided for September 16 to be designated National Heroes Day, which is also the birthdate of the Federation’s first National Hero and first Premier, Sir Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw.
In 1998 Sir Robert was conferred with the Order of National Hero, the highest honour within the Federation. Six years later, Sir Caleb A. Paul Southwell – the Federation’s second Premier – as well as Sir Joseph Nathaniel France were conferred with the honour.
And in 2013, Nevis’ first Premier Sir Simeon Daniel was named the Federation’s fourth National Hero. In 2015, the Federation’s first Prime Minister, Dr. the Rt. Excellent Sir Kennedy Simmonds, was named St. Kitts and Nevis fifth National Hero.
And while the first four were conferred posthumously, Sir Kennedy is the Federation’s only living National Hero.
“…In the future, I would like to see women also being included in this illustrious list. They too must be able to break through the glass ceiling and be recognized for their work and contribution to the betterment of our beloved and proud nation. So, let the daughters of St. Kitts and Nevis step proudly forward,” PM Harris said.
He also said there are other groups of individuals who could be considered and explained that criteria should be developed in laying the groundwork for the most suitable individuals to be considered for the highest honour of the land,.
“…We will look to develop criteria so that we can continue to adopt a robust process in awarding the status of national hero so that we retain the legacy for the nation at its highest level.
“This task of identifying our national heroes ought to be left to the people and appropriately broad-based national committee to adjudge the developed criteria for designation of a national hero.”
