Guyana Universities

•  Arthur Raymond Chung OE

Born: 1916 at Windsor Forest, West Coast Demerara.

Education:

Modern High School, Guyana.

Sworn Land Surveyor (1940).

Middle Temple of London (1947).

Appointed:

Acting Magistrate (1953).

Magistrate (1954).

Senior Magistrate (1960).

Registrar of Deeds and of the Supreme Court (1961).

Puisne Judge (1962).

Judge (1963).

First President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana (17 March 1970 to 6 October 1980).

Honours:

The Order of Excellence of Guyana (1980).

Notes:

Arthur Chung qualified as a barrister in 1947 then worked as Assistant Legal examiner with the British Civil Service and later joined the chambers of British lawyer Maurice Shear. He returned home in October, 1948 when he was admitted to the local bar and practised as a lawyer until his appointment as Acting Magistrate.

Arthur Chung served as Ceremonial President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces until the post of Executive President was created. He held the office longer than any of Guyana's Executive Presidents to date, including the now deceased Forbes Burnham and Cheddi Jagan.

•  Desirée Patrica Bernard CCH

Born: 2 March 1939 in Georgetown.

Education:

Bishops' High School, Guyana.

University of London and the Law Society's College of Law (1964).

Appointed:

Magistrate (1970).

Judge (1980).

Appellate Court Judge (1992).

Chief Justice (1996).

Offices Held:

Deputy Chairman of the Adoption Board.

Member of the Council of the University of Guyana.

Secretary of the Caribbean Women's Association.

President of the Guyana Law Society.

President of the Georgetown Toast Mistresses Club.

President of the Organization of the Commonwealth Caribbean Bar Associations (OCCBA).

Rapporteur for the International Committee monitoring the "Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women" (CEDAW).

Honours:

The Cacique's Crown of Honour of Guyana (1985).

Notes:

Desirée Bernard was admitted to the Guyana Bar in 1964 and worked at the Law firm of Cameron and Shepherd as a Solicitor from 1965 to 1966 when she began private practice.

She has been an advocate for the rights of women and children and was involved in proposing draft legislation for their protection as well as in the promotion of the Domestic Violence Bill.

Desirée Bernard was the first woman to be appointed President of OCCBA, Judge of the High Court of Guyana, and Chief Justice in Guyana and in the CARICOM region.

•  Martin Wylde Carter OR, CCH

Born: 7 June 1927 in Georgetown.
Died: 13 December 1997.

Education:

Queen's College, Guyana.

Professional Achievements:

Poet-in-Residence, Essex University (1975).

Artist-in-Residence, University of Guyana (1977).

Appointed:

School Teacher (1954 -1959).

Chief Information Officer, Booker Group of Companies (1959 -1967).

Minister of Information (1967 -1970).

Member of Guyana's annual delegation to the United Nations General Assembly (1967 -1970).

Honours:

The Cacique's Crown of Honour of Guyana (1970).

The Order of Roraima of Guyana (1994).

Notes:

Martin Carter was one of the members of the original People's Progressive Party (PPP) founded in 1950. Shortly after the PPP won the 1953 General Elections, the British Government suspended the British Guiana Constitution and imposed emergency regulations. Martin Carter was arrested and imprisoned for three months for defying the regulations.

He was one of the participants at the Independence talks held in London during 1966.

Selected Titles:

The Hills of Fire Glow Red (1951)	Conversations (1961)
The Hidden Man (1952)	Jail Me Quickly (1966)
The Kind Eagle (1952)	Poems of Succession (1977)
Poems of Resistance (1952)	Poems of Affinity (1980)
Carter, Martin, 1989. Selected Poems. McDonald, Ian (ed). Demerara     Publishers Limited, Georgetown, Guyana.
Carter, Martin, 1999. Poesías Escogidas. Selected Poems. Ortiz-    Carboneres, Salvador (trans.), Dabydeen, David (ed.). Peepal Tree Press,    Leeds.