TRIBUTE
Professor The Hon. Ambassador Richard Bernal, O.J
U.W.I. Chapel, Mona
February 4, 2023
My sense of seismic shock and utter dismay is second only to Margaret’s. Just before midday on Wednesday January 4th, Richard unexpectedly pushed my office door to say he was back a day earlier than expected from a weekend in Bluefields.
We exchanged festive greetings, and he even telephoned his wife, “Management” as he called “her” to confirm 2 social engagements with me during the next 5 days.
He left my office for his section, cheerful, confident and with the customary swagger. –
“See you for our talks tomorrow and I will bring you two bags
ackee from our freezer.”.
I have yet to cope with the awesome reality that within 6 hours, lying on the ground in Margaret’s lap, my treasured friend and a precious stalwart colleague, who seemed in the pink of health at noon had suddenly gone away by dusk to the realm of eternal peace.
Professor the Hon Amb. Richard Leighton Bernal inherited the DNA of a family renowned for excellence, integrity, community engagement and passion for patriotic service.
These endowments account for the depth and breadth of his professional accomplishments as scholar, academician, economist, banker, diplomat, author and advocate.
Richard Bernal made seminal, far-reaching and defining contributions to some of the most critical institutions in Jamaica’s national development: Bank of Jamaica, the Central Planning Agency [now the Planning Institute of Jamaica], Mona Institute of Business and Management, Workers Savings and Loans Bank, the Jamaica Stock Exchange and the Ministry of Finance. He was a skilled technician in helping to build the architecture of Jamaica’s modern economic development. He was a spirited and passionate participant in the intellectual fervour that defined the search for sustainable social and economic development at various stages of our nation’s growth and subsequently the Caribbean Community.
But as others will attest today, it is as our Ambassador to Washington and Permanent Representative to the OAS that Ambassador Bernal leaves his most indelible footprint. Ambassador Bernal’s tour of duty, spanning three American Presidencies, was nothing short of remarkable and spectacular.
This was so, both for the substantive work he accomplished, and as a result of the immense burnishing of the profile of Jamaica in the heart of American political and diplomatic power that was derived from his sterling representation. I mention here as well, the superb work of his wife Margaret, as a cultural ambassador for Jamaica and an astute organiser among the Jamaican and Caribbean Diaspora. They were indeed Mr. and Mrs. Washington D.C.!
Richard has told the tale, as only he can, of the ingenious methods he employed to break down the resistance from the relevant Ministries at home, to purchase a well-appointed property in the heart of Dupont Circle, a stone’s throw from the White House and the Capitol, which proudly serves as Jamaica’s Mission in Washington.
His book The Influence of Small States on Superpowers reflects the tenacity of audacity and sagacity in reflecting how a little country like Jamaica could have such strong positions and so much clout. His wide-ranging expertise in the OAS and the other global space was evident when he gave convincing testimony on trade, global affairs, diplomacy and development in the United States Congress.
He was universally acknowledged as an expert on international trade and development during in the Doha Round and Hemispheric Negotiations. On reflection, how did he realise a lifetime of stellar and decorated accomplishments at the “tender” age of 73? It was by his intellectual activism, his dedication to social justice and his indefatigable energy.
This fully equipped him to lead with panache, the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery as Director and Principal Negotiator for CARIFORUM to conclude the Regional Economic Partnership Agreement.
His banking experience was immensely valuable to Jamaica and the Caribbean during the several years he worked, including his stint as Executive Director at the Inter-American Development Bank where he made sure to secure for Jamaica and the Caribbean every available dollar for our sustainable development.
Richard Bernal had an acute sense of history and the importance of documentation for posterity, so that generations to come will be able to delve into the themes of his scholarly preoccupations through his formidable and veritable treasure trove of published works.
His full dossier encompasses some 20 pages, including 6 published books, nearly 200 learned articles in prestigious monographs, journals, dissertations, book chapters, policy position papers.
Topic – Does Fidel Eat More Than Your Father?
There are still 2 books and 4 articles in his computer left for completion.
His research extended well beyond the well trodden ground. Recognising China’s growing importance as a world power, he is now acknowledged as the leading authority on Chinese-Caribbean Trade and Diplomacy.
It was due to his abiding belief in the innate ability of the Caribbean, Africa and the African Diaspora to illuminate a path and engineer workable solutions for the sustained development of their people that he joined me at the P.J. Patterson Institute for Africa-Caribbean Advocacy as Principal Research Fellow. His work and worth have been phenomenal in organising and advancing the work of the Institute globally. His passing has left a crater, more than a gap. His energy, enthusiasm, passion, brilliance and intellectual rigour will not be easily be replicated.
Richard Bernal led a life of purpose, dedicated to upliftment of our people which has made a significant national, regional and global impact. Even as we, his friends and professional colleagues adjust to his passing, the deepest grief, of course, will understandably continue to be borne by his close-knit family, to whom he was a loving husband, devoted father and doting grandfather. To them we extend our profound sympathy.
A personal word to Margaret. We recognize your loss is immeasurable. But remember, that’s why he called you “Management”. You must manage for he knew you will. You have so many memories to treasure. Brian and Daren are there for you and so are Nile and Elle, for you both taught them to love each other. We his friends and colleagues will be standing always with you.
May the memory of this colossus, Richard Leighton Bernal forever remain in our hearts and be a shining light throughout our own journey.