Former head of the public service and diplomat Reginald Dumas died on Thursday night (March 7th) at the Scarborough General Hospital. He was aged 88.
His Daughter Sonja said:
"He leaves a legacy of integrity and honesty that I hope to follow as long as I’m on the planet, and perhaps beyond. He is my ancestor now, looking down on me, guiding me. For many, he was a great diplomat, a great orator and great political analyst. He fought tirelessly for good governance. His generosity touched countless people, as did his wit (which was often acerbic). He wasn’t in any way perfect. He was more stubborn than ten mules put together and could dismiss you with a short, tart phrase when he’d had enough of what he thought was nonsense. But his heart was huge and his mind brilliant."
His Good Friend Former Independent Senator and renowned criminologist, Professor Ramesh Deosaran Said this about Mr. Dumas:
"When he called, he would say “Ramesh, what you think about this?” I would really miss that voice and him—his candour and intellectual honesty in a place where politics is widely accepted as having its own morality. If only his example could be followed.
Slowly speaking and quite humbly, he would say, let’s look at the other side. And I got educated that way. He also educated the country through the media. Though not inside the noisy political arena, he had shrewd insights into our politics and sometimes put the arrogant and politically mischievous in their proper place.
May He R.I.P.