Eugene Aubrey Pyfrom Dupuch
Eugene Aubrey Pyfrom Dupuch was born in Nassau, Bahamas on December 7, 1912. He was educated at Queen’s College, Nassau and at St. John’s University, Minnesota, U.S.A.
His interest in the law was sparked in 1942 when a well-established political group sued “The Tribune”, the family newspaper, for libel. He and his older brother, Etienne, despite their lack of legal experience, decided to defend themselves and won the case, and this led to him attending the University of Toronto’s School of Law in 1943.
Mr. Dupuch was known as a prolific lawyer. His greatest joy was in the practice of criminal law, but his interest in Constitutional Law was sparked by his dean at Law School, Dr. W. P. M. Kennedy, and he was regarded as an expert in this field.
In 1960 he and Mr. Orville A. Turnquest (as he then was) formed a partnership which endured until his untimely death in 1981.
In September, 1998 the third law school of the Council of Legal Education (Caribbean) was established in The Bahamas and named after him – The Eugene Dupuch Law School.
His Excellency Sir Orville Turnquest, G.C.M.G., Q.C.,
His Excellency Sir Orville Turnquest, G.C.M.G., Q.C., was the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. He was sworn in on January 3, 1995, succeeding His Excellency Sir Clifford Darling, and retired on November 13, 2001.
Upon assumption of the Office of Governor-General, Sir Orville was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George.
A former Deputy Prime Minister, Attorney-General and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sir Orville has had an illustrious career as a barrister-at-law and counsel and attorney.
Sir Orville Turnquest became Deputy Prime Minister, Attorney-General and Minister of Foreign Affairs on September 1, 1993, having served as Attorney-General and Minister of Justice and Foreign Affairs since August 21, 1992.
In private practice in The Bahamas since 1953 as counsel and attorney and notary public, the Governor-General was a senior partner in the law firm of Dupuch and Turnquest prior to his becoming a Cabinet Minister. He acted as Stipendiary and Circuit Magistrate and Coroner in 1959, and served as President of The Bahamas Bar Association and chairman of The Bahamas Bar Council between 1970 and 1972. He is a former part-time lecturer in law at The Bahamas Extra-mural Department of the University of the West Indies and a member of The Bahamas Law Revision Committee. He was a law tutor and a member of the Examining Board for admission to The Bahamas Bar from 1965 until his ministerial appointment. Sir Orville was made a Queen’s Counsel of the Supreme Court on January 6, 1993.
Sir Orville has been awarded LL.D. (Hon.) from Elmira College, N.Y., LL.D. (Hon.) from University of the West Indies, Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Sojourner-Douglass College, Maryland, and Member of the Presidents Associates of Nova Southeastern University, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
He married the late Edith Louise Thompson on February 19, 1955. He has two daughters and one son — Caryl Antoinette Eileen Lashley, a barrister-at-law; Michele Cecile Edith Fields, a chartered accountant; and Orville Alton Thompson Turnquest, a former bank officer who now serves as a Cabinet Minister and Member of Parliament in The Bahamas.
In semi-retirement Sir Orville is in constant demand as a public speaker, and practices as a Consultant Counsel to his former law firm; he also devotes a great deal of his time to historical research.
His recreational pursuits are tennis, swimming, music and reading.