SEAN McWEENEY QC
CHAIRMAN
CONSTITUTIONAL COMMISSION

Sean McWeeney QC served as Attorney-General of The Bahamas from January, 1989 to August, 1992.  He also served as a Senator from 1985 to 1992, and Leader of the Government in the Senate in the latter part of his parliamentary tenure. Concurrently with his service as Attorney-General, he acted on numerous occasions as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Mr. McWeeney was called to the Bahamas bar in 1978 and was admitted to the Inner Bar as Queen’s Counsel in 2009.  He is a senior partner in Graham Thompson, one of the nation’s largest and oldest law firms.

Mr. McWeeney’s political involvement dates back to 1969 when, at the age of 16, he was elected the President of UNICOMM, then the leading pro-Independence/radical leftwing pressure group which famously burned the Union Jack on Clifford Park during the Queen’s Birthday celebrations in 1969 as a protest against colonialism.  In 1970, Mr. McWeeney again became embroiled in major public controversy when he was expelled from Queen’s College following an inflammatory public address as Head Boy, criticizing the lack of Bahamianization of both the school faculty and curriculum.

Mr. McWeeney was elected the National Chairman of the governing Progressive Liberal in 1984.  He would be elected for five consecutive terms in all (1984-1989), resigning, however, upon his appointment to the cabinet as Attorney –General in 1989.

It was during Mr. McWeeney’s tenure as Attorney-General that important innovations aimed at expediting the delivery of judicial services were introduced.  These included the introduction of computerized court-reporting systems, the inauguration of night courts, and significant increases in the number of judges, magistrates and prosecutors. It was also during his tenure that the laws for the financial services sector were modernized, thereby enhancing the international competitiveness of the nation’s second major industry. 

In 1998, on the occasion of the Silver Jubilee of Bahamian Independence, Mr. McWeeney was recognized by the Ingraham Government for Outstanding Contribution to National Development in the area of Law, and awarded the Silver Jubilee Medal.  

In April 2000, Mr. McWeeney was appointed by then Prime Minister Ingraham as Chairman of the Judicial Review Commission Between 1999 and 2002, Mr. McWeeney was also appointed as Chairman of the Steering and Implementation Committees responsible for overseeing the re-structuring of the Royal Bahamas Police Force and the introduction of reforms to law enforcement in The Bahamas.

 

In May, 2002, upon the return to power of the Progressive Liberal Party, Prime Minister Christie appointed Mr. McWeeney as the Chairman of his transition team to advise on the setting up of his administration. Mr. McWeeney would go on to serve as a member of the National Security Council, the Chairman of the second Judicial Review Commission, and Chairman of the Clifton Heritage Authority.

In May 2012, following the General Elections which returned the PLP to power, Mr. McWeeney again served as the head of Prime Minister Christie’s transition team.

In August 2012, Mr. McWeeney was appointed the Chairman of the Constitutional Commission, the body mandated to review and recommend changes to the Constitution

of The Bahamas in advance of the country’s 40^th anniversary of Independence on 2013.

Mr. McWeeney is married to former Senator and Miss Bahamas, Cyprianna McWeeney. They are the parents of three children, Gillian, Melissa, and Sean Jr.