Clement Howell

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Clement Howell
Born(1935-12-10)December 10, 1935
DiedAugust 2, 1987(1987-08-02) (aged 51)
OccupationPolitician
Known forMember of the Turks and Caicos Ministerial Government
Disappearance and presumed death

Clement Howell (December 10, 1935 – August 2, 1987) was a politician from the Turks and Caicos Islands.[1] He served on a four-member interim advisory council beginning in July 1986, after two previous chief ministers were forced to resign and the ministerial government in the territory was suspended.

The Ministerial government resumed after elections were held in early 1988.

Early life

Clement Howell was born on 10 December 1935 in Blue Hills, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands to Edgar Cornelius Howell and Christiana Howell née Rigby. He was the last of six children who lived to see their adulthood.

Clement attended the Blue Hills All Age school (now the Oseta Jolly Primary) and later went on to the Turks and Caicos High School on

high school
made him a prime candidate for a post as a teacher at the Five Cays All Age School and later at the Blue Hills All Age school, where he was once a student.

Marriage & Family

Howell met and married the former Ellen Amelia Jolly. She had relocated to Providenciales, when her mother, Oseta Jolly was transferred there to work as the headteacher for the Blue Hills All Age school. Their wedding took place on January 6, 1957. They had nine children.

Life's Work

Clement Howell played a key role in the

Oswald O. Skippings. In November 1980, the People's Democratic Movement (PDM) lost their bid for reelection to the Progressive National Party
(PNP) and Howell was re-appointed as headteacher of the Blue Hills Primary School by the PNP administration.

In 1984 Howell resigned his post as headteacher and joined the political arena, where he announced his candidacy to become the

Legislative Council of the Turks and Caicos Islands. After the elections of 1984, he took the oath of office as a member of the Legislative Council for Providenciales and leader of the official opposition.[2] He held both posts until the constitution was suspended in 1986. With the new arrangements for governing the territory, in the absence of ministerial government, Howell was among those selected to serve on an advisory council to the governor. Under pressure from members of his party, Howell later resigned as a member of the advisory council and by mid-1987, he was superseded as leader of the PDM by another of the party's loyalist.[3]

Howell's sphere of influence also spanned his work at Bethany Baptist Church, where he worshipped. He served his church as a deacon and on Providenciales, as secretary of the Providenciales Baptist Association. His work also included a stint of service as secretary and then as president of the Turks and Caicos Islands Baptist Union. He represented his church and the Baptist family of churches at several conferences, including at regional and international events.

He was an outstanding member of the

Kiwanis Club of Providenciales and held several memberships in other clubs and service-oriented organisations. A part of his life's work was to see a high school established on Providenciales to meet the educational/social needs of the young people and to put a stop to these young people having to leave home, travelling to Grand Turk, South & North Caicos or The Bahamas
for high school education. During his time as a member of the Legislative Council for Providenciales, he worked tenaciously with members of the community and together, they accomplished their goal. The Providenciales High School opened its doors in September 1987.

Disappearance

Towards the end of July 1987, Howell travelled to

US Coast Guard
, BASRA and other local search operations were called off a few days later. Nothing was ever found of the aircraft or the people on board.

Honours

The Providenciales High School was renamed the Clement Howell High School in 1991 in recognition of the stalwart contribution Clement Howell made to the field of education in the Turks and Caicos Islands and in honour of his contribution to agitating for the building of the school.

During the PDM Convention of 2006 Mr. C. Howell was honoured for his contribution to the party and to the development of politics in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

While celebrating the 20th anniversary of the high school, the organisers unveiled a bust of Clement Howell near the entrance of the school and published a commemorative magazine featuring his life and work.

See also

References

  1. ^ The World Factbook (1987) p. 249

External links