The Hon. The Hon. Damien Gomez - The Bahamas Customs Department

HON. DAMIAN GOMEZ

MP – CENTRAL AND SOUTH ELEUTHERA

THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS

Damian Gomez was born on August 17, 1962. He is the son of The Most Reverend Drexel W. Gomez and Carol Gomez. He is married to Camille D. Gomez and together they have five children Danasha, Drexel, Eva, Damian, and Dylan.

Political Highlights: Mr. Gomez was sworn in as the Minister of State in the Ministry of Legal Affairs on May 10, 2012.

His current Ministerial Portfolio includes:

• Law Reform and Revision
• Legal Education
• Coroners
• Justices of the Peace
• Legal Aid
• Relations with the Industrial Relations Tribunal.

Mr. Gomez served as the Shadow Attorney General from 1997 to 2002 and had been responsible for the Official Opposition’s positions on the Ministry of Justice, National Security, and the Ministry of Transportation. During his public service as aforesaid he has read and analysed each new legislative measure for the purpose of briefing the then Leader of the Opposition and Parliamentary colleagues on the meaning and importance of the respective statutes to The Bahamas. In 2001, Mr. Gomez became the Progressive Liberal Party’s candidate for the North Eleuthera constituency. Prior to that, Mr. Gomez was the Chairman of the Liberal Committee in 1997. In 1991 he served as the Assistant Secretary General of the Free National Movement. In 1989 and 1990 he served as the Vice Chairman and President of the Torchbearers respectively.

Education: Mr. Gomez completed his early education at St. John’s College. He completed his tertiary education at the University of Bristol, England; Holborn Law Tutors, England; University of West Indies Cave Hill Campus, Barbados; Harrison College, Barbados. He obtained his Master of Laws degree in Commercial Law from the University of Bristol, specialising in Commercial Leases; The Law of International Contracts, The Law of Restitution and The Law of Banking. He also obtained a Bachelor of Laws degree, honors from The University of West Indies (U.W.I). He is a member of Lincoln’s Inn and was called to the Bar of England and Wales and the Bar of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

Professional/Career: Mr. Gomez has lectured on Professional Negligence and the relationship between Contract and Tort as causes of action. He has also lectured on Constitutional Law and Administrative Law. He has served as a senator in the Senate of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas from 1997 to 1999 and 2002 to 2006. Additionally, he has contributed to public lectures and discourse on various legal matters of importance to all sectors of the Bahamian society.

During his practice of law, he has specialised in Civil Litigation with a particular emphasis on Commercial and Public Law Litigation. He has appeared as Counsel in the trials of a number of causes in The Bahamas most noteworthy of which are: –

• Banco Ambrosiano (In Liquidation) v Coopers & Lybrand Coopers & Lybrand v Archbishop Marcinkus, and the Instituto Per Le Opere Di Religione;

• Loran Davis v The Attorney General;

• Ron’s Auto Parts and Accessories Limited v Norwich Union Fire Insurance Society Limited et al;

• Monique Stuart et aux v Colina Imperial Insurance Company Ltd.;

• In Re the Annex Native Baptist Church;

• Sylvia Scriven v A.D. Hanna;

• Austin Knowles et aux v The Attorney General;

• Atain Takitota v The Attorney General;

• The Attorney General v Samuel Knowles et al;

• The Grand Bahama Port Authority Litigation

He has also represented the Late Rt. Hon. Sir Lynden O. Pindling (former Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas) in many matters including the 1995 Commission of Enquiry.

In September 2006, he was the youngest judicial appointee to the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas having been appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission; he resigned that appointment in January 2007.