By Nelson A. King
Vincentians at home and in
the Diaspora are mourning the
death of legal luminary and
former Deputy Prime Minister
Parnel R. Campbell, a Queens
Counsel (QC).
Campbell, affectionately
called “PR”, died on April 19 at
the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital
in Kingstown, the Vincentian
capital. He was 75. He was
accorded an Official Funeral on
Thursday, May 13.
According to the local
Searchlight newspaper, Campbell
had “a long and distinguished
record of service to St.
Vincent and the Grenadines.”
The paper said he was
a member of Parliament for
the East Kingstown and Central
Kingstown constituencies
from 1987 – 1989 and 1989
– 1998, respectively, under the
New Democratic Party (NDP)
administration of former Prime
Minister Sir James F. Mitchell.
During that time, the
Searchlight said that Campbell
served as attorney general
— from 1987 to 1995 —
and held ministerial and other
notable positions, besides being
deputy prime minister, such as
deputy speaker of the House of
Assembly, and minister of Justice,
Information and Culture.
“He was an attorney general
of the highest quality,” the
Searchlight quoted Prime Minister
Gonsalves as saying. “He
was a reform-minded attorney
general, he was a Christian
who invigorated the Spiritual
Baptist faith, to which he
belonged. He gave it enhanced
prominence in our society.
“Perhaps, more than anyone
else since Independence or,
indeed, before, Parnel Campbell
has done more than anyone
else to educate the people
of this country on the law and
what it means to each individual,”
Caribbean L 36 ife, MAY 28-JUNE 3, 2021
Gonsalves added. “The
long running program, ‘The
Law and You’, on national television,
after he left active politics,
is legendary.”
The prime minister said that
Campbell was his colleague at
the Bar and that they were
friends.
“We worked together in the
same political organization,”
he told the Searchlight. “Then,
we were political rivals, and we
remained friends. He was simply
a wonderful human being.”
The NDP said in a statement
that Campbell, who was
its long-serving chairman,
was “a well-respected lawyer,
and defender of the legal and
political rights of fellow Vincentians.
“Many benefited individually
and as a community from
his professional skill and diligence,”
said the main opposition
party in St. Vincent and
the Grenadines.
The Searchlight noted that
Campbell also served as chairman
of the Constitutional
Review Commission, “which
was charged with the responsibility
to prepare the Revised
Constitution of St. Vincent
and the Grenadines, which was
defeated in a national referendum
in 2009.”
“The well-respected lawyer
is survived by his widow Juliette,
children Denise, Arusha,
The late Vincentian Deputy Prime Minister, Parnel R. Campbell,
QC. The Campbell Family
Alpha, Bantu, Mandella and
Daniel, many other relatives
and friends,” the paper said.
Her Ladyship, Dame Janice
M. Pereira, chief justice, judicial
officers, management and
staff of the Eastern Caribbean
Supreme Court (ECSC) also
joined the regional legal fraternity
in mourning Campbell’s
death.
“While we mourn the loss
of a legal giant, we recognize
that Mr. Parnel R. Campbell,
QC, has left a rich and lasting
legacy: his deep and meaningful
contribution to the legal
profession as a skilled advocate,
Attorney General and Minister
of Legal Affairs of St. Vincent
and the Grenadines from 1987
to 1995, as well as his many
notable contributions,” said
the court in its tribute.
Vincentians mourn legal luminary,
ex-Deputy PM Parnel Campbell
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