The former governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), Sir Dwight Venner, died here earlier today.
Sir Dwight, who was the head of the ECCB from 1989 to 2015, was in 1996 named a Commander of the Order of the British of the British Empire (CBE), and in 2001 promoted to Knight (KBE) in the same order.
In 2012, Sir Dwight an economist, who was born in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, received the St. Lucia Cross for outstanding contribution in economics and finance. At one time he was a key economic policy advisor to then Prime Minister John Compton and served as Director of Finance in St Lucia
Before going to the St. Kitts-based ECCB, Sir Dwight served in the position of Director of Finance and Planning in the St Lucian Government between November 1981 and November 1989.
Sir Dwight was an Economist by training and was educated at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica where he obtained both a Bachelor of Science (BSc) and a Master of Science (MSc) Degree in Economics. He served as a Junior Research Fellow at the Institute of Social and Economic Research at the University of the West Indies and then as a Lecturer in Economics from 1974 to 1981.
He wrote and published extensively in the areas of Monetary and International Economics, Central Banking, Public Finance, Economic Development, Political Economy and International Economic Relations.
Selected publications include Monetary Policy and a Stable EC Dollar, 1996; Surmounting the Barriers to Development, 1996; The Prospects for a Unified Caribbean in the New International Economic Order, 1996; Prospects and Policy Options for the ECCB Area, 1997; Economic Theory and Development Options For The Caribbean: The Sir Arthur Lewis Memorial Lectures 1996-2005, 2007.
He also was a member of the Board of Directors of the Caribbean Knowledge and Learning Network, and a member of the Commission for Growth and Development, World Bank. He is also Chairman of the OECS Economic Union Task Force Committee, and the UWI Open Campus Council.
Sir Dwight received the award of Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1996 in St Lucia and was recognised as a Distinguished Graduate of the University of the West Indies on its 50th Anniversary in July 1998. In June 2001 he was awarded Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE) in St Vincent and the Grenadines for services to the financial sector. In October 2003, Sir Dwight was recipient of an honorary degree, the Doctor of Laws from the University of the West Indies.
In December 2011, he was awarded the Saint Lucia Cross for distinguished and outstanding service of national importance to Saint Lucia.
Sir Dwight was married to Lynda Arnolde Winville Venner nee St Rose and they have seven children.
