Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretary General, Irwin LaRocque has described Sir Alister McIntrye, who died in Jamaica last weekend as a “true titan” and one of the region’s “irreplaceable sons”.
Sir Alister, who served as the second CARICOM secretary general from 1974-77 and was awarded the Order of the Caribbean Community (OCC) in 1994, the region’s highest honour, died at the age of 87. No date has yet been announced for his funeral service.
In a condolence message, LaRocque said Sir Alister “was one of the remarkable group including William Demas, and Sir Shridath Ramphal which came together to make the transition from CARIFTA (Caribbean Free Trade Agreement) to CARICOM a reality.
“Along with Sir Shridath and Mr Demas, he was a leading member of the West Indian Commission which produced the seminal work on the integration movement “A Time for Action”. He devoted much of his published work to the regional integration movement,” LaRocque added.
“His insight into the development challenges of small states and his determination to improve their situation were the hallmarks of his role as Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and Assistant Secretary-General for International Economic Co-operation in the Office of the United Nations Secretary-General.”
LaRocque said that Sir Alister never wavered in his belief in and commitment to the Caribbean and “his was a life spent embedded in the Caribbean ethos.
“He enriched this region with his scholarship, his intellect and his work ethic. The contribution of this son of Grenada to the development of the Caribbean is immeasurable,” LaRocque said, adding “CARICOM too has lost a true titan”.
Meanwhile, CARICOM chairman and St. Kitts-Nevis Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris described Sir Alister as “indeed an international treasure and regional icon who was widely respected and highly sought after for his first-rate ideas, experience and expertise.
“Sir Alister’s keen intellect and negotiating skills brought immense value to any enterprise,” Harris said, adding that “he was an academic giant who lifted up others with his intellectual prowess more than himself.
“I, like so many others, owe him a deep debt of gratitude,” Prime Minister Harris added.
The Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) described Sir Alister as “a Caribbean statesman, a scholar, a true Caribbean son.
“Though we mourn his passing, we celebrate his life – one which he dedicated to the cause of Caribbean integration and development,” the region’s premier financial institution noted.
It said that Sir Alister shared his intellect and ability with the entire region and “his work and his scholarship as a development economist and an integrationist influenced many of our leaders; and his legacy will endure through generations.
“Sir Alister’s vision of a stronger, more integrated Caribbean is one which we share at CDB. Almost 50 years ago, the architects of the Bank mandated us to promote economic cooperation and integration among our regional members, having special and urgent regard to our less developed member countries. “We will continue to build on the strong foundation which Sir Alister left behind as we work to accelerate the economic development of our region,” the CDB added.
Sir Alister is survived by his wife Marjorie and his children, his wife, Marjorie, children Arnold, Andrew, Helga and Nicholas.
