The Chief Minister and Minister of Finance, Mr. Victor Banks, was among regional and international government officials and representatives of financial institutions at the funeral of Sir Dwight Venner on Wednesday this week, January 4. He accompained by Mrs. Kathleen Rogers, Board Member of the ECCB.The live-streamed official funeral was held at the Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Castries, St. Lucia.
Sir Dwight, 70, was a distinguished Economist who served as Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, based in St. Kitts, from 1989 to 2015. He died on December 22, 2016 at Tapion Hospital in St. Lucia.
His passing saw a flood of messages of condolences to his family and the people of the Caribbean from all levels of society across the world. The Government of Anguilla was among the bearers of condolence and tribute. Mrs. Cora Richardson-Hodge, who was serving as Acting Chief Minister at the time of Sir Dwight’s passing, sent this message:
“It was with deep sorrow that we have learned about the passing of the Honourable Sir K. Dwight Venner, former Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank. On behalf of the Government and people of Anguilla, and on my own behalf, we would like to offer our deepest sympathy and heartfelt condolences to the people of the Eastern Caribbean Region as well as the Venner family.
“The late Honourable Sir K. Dwight Venner played an immensely important role in contributing towards the Monetary, Banking and Exchange Rate sectors of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union.
“He will be remembered for his endeavours to ensure sustainable economic and finance structures which have been key to the region’s development. The loss of such an eminent leader and scholar is indeed a great loss to the region and the entire international community.
“May his soul rest in peace.”
Sir Dwight played a significant role in the banking resolution in Anguilla between August 2013 and in the run-up to his retirement as Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank in 2015.
Biographical notes regarding the former ECCB Governor, an Economics graduate of the University of the West Indies, show the following:
In 1996 he was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) and in 2001 promoted to Knight (KBE) in the same order. In 2012 he received the Saint Lucia Cross for outstanding contribution in economics and finance (in which he was trained at the UWI).
In late 2015, Venner announced his retirement after 26 years of service in the position of Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank. He stepped down at the end of November 2015. He was the longest-serving Governor of any central bank, monetary authority or federal reserve, having served since 1989.
Sir Dwight Venner, who was born in Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, was married to Mrs. Lynda Arnolde Winville Venner nee St. Rose and was father of seven children in the marriage union.
