Former Cayman Islands Governor Stuart Jack has died.
Governor Martyn Roper announced Jack’s passing in a brief statement Monday evening, saying he was “very saddened” to hear about the death of the former governor.
Jack served as the Governor of the Cayman Islands from 2005 until 2009.
“It was towards the end of Mr Jack’s tenure as Governor, in 2009, that the present Constitution came into effect. Governor Jack said that facilitating the modernised Constitution was the highlight of his four years in the Cayman Islands,” Roper said in his statement.
Roper said, according to Jack’s daughter, the former governor had developed a “deep fondness” for the Cayman Islands and the people of Cayman.
“On behalf of everyone in the Cayman Islands I send my deepest condolences to Governor Jack’s family and friends at this sad time,” he added.
Premier Wayne Panton also reflected on Jack’s final year as Governor, during which Cayman’s modernised Constitution was approved in the first ever national referendum.
“This achievement, of which he was justly proud, was the culmination of years of effort by the elected Government and civil society- supported by the Office of the Governor. He was also the first Cayman Islands Governor to break with the established tradition of wearing the Governor’s ceremonial white uniform and hat, ushering in the modern era for subsequent Governors,” Panton added.
The premier expressed heartfelt sympathies to the Jack family.
During Jack’s tenure he started his own blog, something that was, at the time, quite novel for a diplomatic official in 2009.
“From time to time there are things I want to say to the people of the Cayman Islands which do not always justify a formal press statement,” Governor Jack wrote in his first blog entry. “Sometimes I have had complaints that the governor was not communicating with the community frequently enough.”
It was also during his tenure that one of Cayman’s most high-profile corruption investigations commenced – Operation Tempura.
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