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Vere Bird, Jr. (c. 1937 - 31 March 2013) was an Antiguan lawyer and politician who served as chairman of the Antigua Labour Party (ALP) and a government minister. He is the son of Vere Bird, the former Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, and brother of Lester Bird, who later held the same position. Bird entered politics in 1981. Three years later he was elected to the House of Representatives and became Minister of Aviation, Public Information and Public Utilities. As minister, Bird conducted a purchase deal for Dominican water before being made Minister of Public Works and Communications on 1 January 1987. In this role, he oversaw the reconstruction of V. C. Bird International Airport, which was the subject of controversy after it was discovered that he had granted a contract for the construction of a new runway to a company in which he was a shareholder. This led to conflict within the ALP, but Bird remained a minister. He was later fired after a scandal in which Israeli weapons, sold to Antigua and Barbuda, were found in the hands of the Medellín Cartel of Colombian drug smugglers – it was discovered that the weapons had been transferred at Bird's instruction, and a report by Sir Louis Blom-Cooper recommended that he be prohibited from holding public office again. Despite this decision, Bird returned to government on 15 May 1996 as Minister of Science, Technology and Communications, with a transfer to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Business Development following the 1999 general election. In 2000, he became Minister of Agriculture, Lands and Fisheries; in this role, he negotiated an end to the Antiguan boycott of agricultural goods from Trinidad and Tobago. The ALP lost the 2004 general election and were replaced by a United Progressive Party government under Baldwin Spencer. Bird remained involved in politics, and along with six other senior ALP members was arrested in 2009 after an unauthorised May Day rally. The seven politicians were found guilty of public order offences, although the trial was delayed following a seizure suffered by Bird. He suffered two more seizures in 2010, after the completion of the trial, and died on 31 March 2013 of heart failure. ==Early career== Bird, the eldest son of Premier Vere Bird, first entered politics in 1981 when he served as an unelected security official during the general election. In the following election in 1984, Bird and his brother Lester were both elected to the House of Representatives after the Antigua Labour Party, led by their father, took 16 of the 17 House seats. Bird himself was victorious over George Walter, leader of the Progressive Labour Movement and former Premier of Antigua and Barbuda, gaining 912 votes to Walter's 358. Upon election, with his father as Prime Minister, he was given the Ministry of Aviation, Public Information and Public Utilities. As Minister he visited Dominica at the head of a four-person delegation that was dispatched to reach a deal on selling Antigua and Barbuda, a country lacking natural supplies, water. This business was concluded on 16 July 1984, when it was announced that Dominica would sell Antigua and Barbuda 2 million gallons of water every 10 days, at a cost of around 3 US dollars per thousand gallons. A cabinet reshuffle on 1 January 1987 saw Bird replaced by Robin Yearwood as Minister of Aviation, Public Information and Public Utilities and becoming instead Minister of Public Works and Communications. This followed controversy over Bird's construction of a new airport, which the opposition charged was "grossly inflated" in cost; retired Grenadian judge Sir Archibald Nedd was appointed to investigate the project and look for signs of wrongdoing. The independent investigation concluded that Bird had been incorrect in his funding of the project, particularly in granting the contract to build the runway to a company in which he was a shareholder. This scandal threatened to topple the government, with eight ministers, including Bird's brother Lester, arguing that the Prime Minister should fire him. This scandal led to the Labour Party splitting into two distinct factions, one led by the Prime Minister and one led by Lester Bird. Despite a general election not being due until 1989, there was widespread speculation that it would be called early. Despite this, no election was called until 9 March 1989, when the ALP were again victorious. With the Prime Minister delegating most of his work due to his advancing age, and instead spending time with his 27-year-old companion, the election was seen as a struggle for power between Bird and his brother Lester. Although Lester had long been the frontrunner with most powers delegated to him, Bird, described in ''The Guardian'' as "a more single-minded, figure, long resentful at being over-shadowed by his sibling", was still seen as a close competitor – one with control of the nation's army. After the election, both Bird brothers retained their respective positions in the Cabinet, but with the Prime Minister's health getting worse, the struggle continued.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Vere Bird, Jr.」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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