About

The Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, JP, MP commenced a long-time career in the Bermuda hotel industry as a dishwasher at the now defunct Coral Island Hotel. He later rose to the post of General Manager of the Coral Island Hotel Company in Bermuda (which included Coral Island Hotel, Palmetto Bay and the Breakers Club). He worked as the Director of Human Resources at the Grotto Bay Beach Hotel, and at the Hamilton Princess Hotel. In October 2001 he became the first Vice President of the Bermuda Industrial Union (BIU), later assuming the full-time post of the President of the BIU. He earned a Diploma in Hotel Management from the Lewis Hotel School in Washington, D.C. and pursued programmes of study at Bermuda College, the City College of Chicago, and the University of Maryland who had campuses at the U.S. Base in Bermuda, and George Meany Labour College, in Washington, D.C. Mr. Burgess was first elected as a Progressive Labour Party (PLP) Member of Parliament, representing Constituency 5 (Hamilton East), in a February 1998 by-election and was re-elected in November 1998. Throughout Mr. Burgess’s political career he served as a Minister for the following departments: Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety; Labour and Immigration; Public Works and Transport. He has served on several boards including: the Board of Immigration, the National Pension Plan Board and the Labour Advisory Council. He also was appointed chairman of the Government Employees’ Health Insurance Scheme. Mr. Burgess continues to be outspoken on issues affecting the workers in Bermuda. On October 28, 2010 he was elected Deputy Leader of the Progressive Labour Party and Deputy Premier of Bermuda. Mr. Burgess was re-elected to Parliament on July 18, 2017 and shortly after, was elected as Deputy Speaker for the current Parliamentary session.