Premier Spider

By Rosemary Jones
Photograph by Charles Anderson

It’s not often you can contact a national leader via Facebook. Or send an email and get a personal reply a couple minutes later. But Bermuda’s new premier, Michael Dunkley, R’80, puts even the most diligent A-types to shame. Sworn in by the resort island’s ceremonial British governor in May, he wasted no time invoking his brand of social media statesmanship.

“Bermuda, I look forward to working with you and for you,” he tweeted the day he took office. “So much to do but we have a great team. Let’s roll up the sleeves and get to it.”

Born in the 21-square-mile British territory best known for its triangle and natty shorts (his go-to uniform), Dunkley, 56, majored in economics and played soccer at UR before returning home to help run the family business.

“I always tell people there were two things I got out of Richmond,” he laughs. “I got a great education and an upbringing in a fantastic college atmosphere. But it’s also where I met my wife.”

Dunkley was in his sophomore year when he noticed Pamela Wood, W’81, a math major from Newport News, Va., and “put a lot of effort into getting to know her well.” He credits her as the reason he made the dean’s list and was recognized as a scholar-athlete. “She used to go to the library every night after dinner, so I started going three times a week — and suddenly my grades went up.”

The couple, now with two grown daughters, celebrated their 33rd wedding anniversary this year, three days after he became premier.

That playbook of perseverance has served Dunkley well in politics, too. He was catapulted into the premiership when his predecessor resigned after a controversy over campaign donations and a private jet trip. But few Bermudians ever doubted the indefatigable deputy premier and national security minister would some day hold the self-governing island’s top job.

A former national footballer and cricketer, Dunkley is CEO of Bermuda’s only dairy, which his great-grandfather started a century ago — the premier’s jocular Twitter handle is @BDAmilkman. He has been one of Bermuda’s most popular politicians since first being elected a member of the island’s Westminster-modeled parliament in 1997. His party, the One Bermuda Alliance, narrowly won a December 2012 election, ending 14 years of Progressive Labour Party rule. The downside? The new government inherited a deficit of $1.4 billion in the middle of a five-year recession.

“Our economy has struggled over the past few years,” admits Dunkley. “Our government has made progress, but I want to see more Bermudians in a better position. That’s why I’m tireless in what we have to do.”

The island retains one of the highest GDP per capita in the world, its wealth derived from being an offshore center for reinsurance and financial services. Tourism also supports the economy, benefiting from proximity to the U.S. — the island lies about 650 miles east of Cape Hatteras, N.C., and is a two-hour flight from most East Coast cities.

“If you haven’t been here, or you haven’t been here for a while, you need to come,” Dunkley says of Bermuda’s appeal. “I’ve lived here all my life, and it still takes my breath away. It’s paradise.”

His grassroots charisma and Bermuda boosterism were evident as soon as Dunkley took office. In the space of a few days, he danced with traditional gombeys, christened a hotel renovation with black rum, walked with his wife’s relay team at a 24-hour cancer-fighting event, opened a global insurance conference, visited a community barbershop, got behind the stumps at a youth cricket tournament, and gave blood at the local hospital. He’s rarely been out of the public eye since assuming office.

“I don’t use an alarm clock,” he says. “I enjoy life, so when I wake up, I’m ready to go. I’ve always enjoyed tackling as much as I can.”

Although his true test won’t come until Bermuda’s next general election in 2017, Dunkley won the OBA’s internal stamp of approval during a leadership conference late this summer. As for being UR’s first alumnus head of state, Dunkley remains a proud Spider.

“I remember those days fondly, and I still stay in touch with friends from university,” he says. “Richmond has a strong tradition with Bermuda; there are Bermudians currently studying there and lots of us alumni.”

For him and his fellow Spiders on the island, sports — particularly Richmond basketball — remain a touchstone. “My old roommate [Bermudian tennis pro Blair Rance, R’80] will call and say, ‘Hey, you watching TV tonight? Richmond’s on!’ It’s a wonderful school.”

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This piece was originally published in the University of Richmond Magazine, Autumn 2014.