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By Ronald G. Bookman

(June 23, 2009)

*Martin Luther King, Jr. once said of truly great leaders, “ ... the time is always right to do what is right.”

With the exception of President Barack Obama, perhaps no political leader in the world today better exemplifies that more than Dr. Ewart F. Brown, Premier of Bermuda.

Brown, a renowned medical doctor, the leader of Bermuda’s ruling Progressive Labor Party, and Premier of Bermuda has been thrust onto the world’s media spotlight with his recent humanitarian efforts to resettle four Chinese Muslim Uighur detainees from the now infamous American Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp in Cuba (Gitmo). The decision was made, according to media reports, in consultation with and at the request of the Obama Administration.

Although in October of 2008, a U.S. Federal Judge found the detainees not to be terrorists and ordered their release, the Bush Administration had taken no steps to abide by the decision. Meanwhile, the debate over the release of any inmates took on an enormous political catfight in the U.S. Congress as many innocent captives languished at Gitmo.

When the Obama Administration assumed Office in January of 2009, President Obama began to review options with his Attorney General Eric Holder not only to close Gitmo but also to find Countries or Territories that would take detainees.

Regardless of the Court declared innocence of the Uighurs, few Countries ventured forward willing to accept the detainees, even on Humanitarian grounds, for fear of reprisals coming from any number of critics. To say the least, it would be an action steeped in controversy.

It was reminiscent of the dilemma faced by the Bush Administration when it geared up for the Iraq War in 2003 and sought military allies to join America’s ‘Coalition of the Willing’. Ironically, England under then Prime Minister Tony Blair and then Australian Prime Minister John Howard volunteered contingencies of troops. As a result, both faced intense criticism at home. To deflate the critics, President Bush invited both Leaders separately to the White House for high profile photo opportunities. Images in the Rose Garden with a grateful President Bush flashed around the globe. The critics of Blair and Howard at home and abroad eventually ebbed, somewhat.

When Premier Brown ventured forth on strictly Humanitarian grounds to provide a home for the Uighur detainees and news of their arrival in Bermuda surfaced, the critics were inflamed. Some in Bermuda and the United Kingdom decried the decision and jumped on the bandwagon criticizing Brown for having accepted the detainees without having first consulted England prior to his decision. Bermuda is the oldest and most populous remaining U.K. territory.

The United Bermuda Party (UBP), Bermuda’s opposition party, seeing an opportunity to pummel Brown, pounced and called for a vote of ‘no confidence’. Even some in his party were raising eyebrows on the decision. On Friday, June 19th, Brown faced a ‘motion of no confidence’ and on a majority vote, the motion was defeated. It was a show of confidence for Brown and his PLP but not without rancor. According to the Royal Gazette, Bermuda’s largest Newspaper, Brown offered an apology to the people of Bermuda for “…any of my decisions they disapprove of.”

But, Brown did not rescind that decision, as it, in his view, was ‘the right thing to do’ and in a statement said, “it was an immigration case and, thus, an internal matter.”

In a career that has spanned over four decades; the demonstration of strong leadership is nothing new for Dr. Ewart Brown. From his student days at Howard University in the tumultuous riot torn ’60’s, through his successful medical career in Los Angeles and Bermuda, and on to his even more remarkable political progress in Bermuda, he has never shied from making the big decision.

In many ways Brown was born to the leadership mantle and politics. His Mother, Helena Brown, was a member of Bermuda’s United Bermuda Party as was his Aunt, Gloria McPhee. In fact, his Aunt McPhee became Bermuda’s first female Cabinet Member in 1974. And this occurred at a time when few persons of Color anywhere in the United Kingdom, or America for that matter, had ascended to such a prestigious post.

He immediately showed a natural leadership quality when he led a student protest at Howard University in 1968. His incredible student leadership was later highlighted in the award winning PBS television documentary, “Eyes on the Prize”.

Brown excelled at everything he attempted. He graduated from Howard University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry, lettering in both Football and Track and Field. He earned an M.D. from Howard’s School of Medicine and a Master of Public Health from University of California with an emphasis on Family Medicine.

After establishing the Vermont Medical Clinic in Los Angeles, Brown longed to return to his Bermuda home. He did and in 1993, he immediately assumed his political commitment to Bermuda that had been so successfully demonstrated years earlier by his Mother and Aunt.

In 2006, after having served as a Member of Bermuda’s Parliament and subsequently Minister of Transport and Tourism for Bermuda, he attained the ultimate leadership role as the Premier of Bermuda.

His tenure as Premier hasn’t been without controversy. But, that comes with the territory. Clearly, his decision to accept the Uighur detainees on Humanitarian grounds, in response to the request by the Obama Administration, places Brown in an uncomfortable global spotlight. But, for over four decades, he understood the tenuous demands of leadership. And like many of the challenges he’s faced in the past, Brown made not only a courageous decision, but the right decision, as well.

Premier Brown knew his decision to accept the detainees would be controversial consistent with the ongoing drama involving America’s role at Gitmo. But, at some point he probably recalled the famous assertion by a great political leader of another era, U.S. President Harry Truman who stated, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”

Brown, as Premier of the beautiful Bermuda has proved that he can take the heat and for that, he’s a natural born leader.

Ronald G. Bookman is President and CEO of  Ron Bookman & Associates, Inc. and a contributor to EUR