Lester S. Hyman

Lester Hyman is the U.S. Legal Counsel for the BVI, which means that he acts on behalf of the Virgin Islands Government in the United States, principally in Washington D.C. He became legal counsel for the BVI in 1992, and has maintained this position through succeeding governments. His first major ‘job’ was to get the USA to allow BV Islanders to visit the United States without having to get a visa. He succeeded, but it took him two and a half years. He has since acted for the BVI on a number of topics, including, most recently, influencing US policy re tax havens and the financial sector with respect to the Virgin Islands. He has been and continues to be a dedicated worker on behalf of the BVI, both in Washington D.C. and on Tortola.

Lester was born – an only child - in Providence, the capital and most populous city in the US State of Rhode Island. After completing his undergraduate (B.A.) education at Brown University (an “Ivy League” university in Providence), he went to Columbia University School of Law (another “Ivy League” school) in the City of New York, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1955. After a spell in the Navy he moved to Massachusetts (Boston 1958-69) to practice law and to get involved in politics – he has been a lifelong Democrat – although he soon decided never to be an elected politician. He was extremely successful in both endeavours – as is clearly show by his extensive list of “Google” entries (e.g. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lester_Hyman). In 1969 he was persuaded to move to Washington D.C. where both his law practice and his political activities increased in significance. By this time John Fitzgerald Kennedy had become his mentor, and Lester remained his protégé until the President’s death. Forty years later Lester knows or has known most of the major US political figures of the past half-century. He has maintained a home in “D.C.” since 1969.

In the 1960s Lester and his family (he has three children, who are frequent visitors to the BVI) vacationed quite regularly in St. Thomas in the US Virgin Island. But Lester felt that this island was being spoiled, and so tried St. John as a destination. He later (1987) took a ferry to Tortola and “fell in love” with it. They rented for three years while looking for land on the island but people kept telling them there was “no land”. One day, while he was on a business trip to Korea, he got a phone call from his agent in Tortola with a “take it or leave it” offer (within 24 hours) for a “perfect piece” of property that would become Arundel Villa and estate on Luck Hill (http://www.bestofbvi.com/tortola_villas/arundel.htm). Lester phoned the US from Korea and his daughter and his friend Peter flew in to look at it, thought it was beautiful, and highly recommended it to Lester. He thus bought his new home sight unseen (“the best thing I ever did”) and spent 2.5 years to build his three-bedroom luxury villa, despite his father’s horror at him buying land in a foreign country. Arundel became his second home and gave him a base from which he could pay back his new country. Lester was given residency in the Virgin Islands in 2004.

When Lester first moved to Tortola it was, of course, a very different place. Many items that we now take for granted had to be imported. For instance, he used to bring much of his own meat with him when he visited. There were of course many fewer cars and roads on Tortola in the late 1960s. In fact he obtained his property on Luck Hill because the other bidder felt that accessibility was too great an issue. He now feels there are too many vehicles on the island and that this has become a major challenge for the country.

A major change is that the old value system seems to be fading and consequently the younger generations are quite different from their parents and grandparents. Lester believes that innovations such as TV and Video Games have been at most a mixed blessing. On the positive side there is still little or no poverty in the BVI and still no obvious need for a welfare system as people have traditionally looked after their extended family members. It is unclear at present whether this will continue to be the case as the country ‘develops’. On the negative side crime seems to have become a greater problem, violent crimes are increasing, and sex crimes are also more prevalent.

Clearly, however, there has been an increased desire in the BVI for education as its benefits have become apparent, and Lester Hyman has become part of this change. Apart from his work as US legal counsel, Lester has been made a member of the Board of the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (established in 1990). He takes this position very seriously, often flying down here from D.C. just for Board Meetings. He was appointed to the Board by Lavity Stoutt himself, who was the first, and longest serving, Chief Minister of the British Virgin Islands, and Lester feels, “one of the best” people he has ever known. H. Lavity Stoutt was the founding chairman of the College’s Board of Governors, and single handedly brought it into existence. The HLSC College is increasingly becoming more professional, has new transfer agreements with US schools, and is a great asset to the country.

Lester Hyman is still working, in his late 70s, with his law firm in Washington D.C. and still extremely active in politics with the Democratic Party. Over the years Lester has traveled extensively within the BVI, but is always eager to revisit old haunts. He has thought of moving permanently to Tortola, but is not sure how he would keep himself occupied (he still loves to work). He would love to be here in winter when “D.C” can prove very difficult for the elderly – as well as other people who don’t like snow and cold! He would like to help the country develop a “third pillar” for its economy, and thinks that the motion picture industry might be a possibility – although the time is not quite ripe for this development.
 
 

Draft of August 23rd, 2010 of interview of August 17th, 2010

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