Marc Bean

The Honourable
Marc Bean
JP
The Honourable Marc Bean JP
Leader of the Opposition
	In office; 21 December 2012 –4 November 2016
Children	3
Alma mater	Delaware State University

Last updated October 17, 2024

Simone

(m. 2012)

Marc A. Bean (born 19 February 1974) is a Bermudian politician, and the former Leader of the Opposition. Bean was a Member of Bermuda's Parliament since winning a by-election in 2010, securing the seat of Warwick South Central for the Bermuda Progressive Labour Party (PLP). Previously, Bean had served in the Bermuda Senate. While in government, Bean held various ministerial and junior ministerial portfolios, including Environment, Planning and Infrastructure Strategy. In September 2020, he announced that he was forming a new political party, the Free Democratic Movement, to contest the 2020 Bermudian general election.^[1]

Early life and education

Born in Paget, Bermuda, Bean attended the Southampton Glebe Primary School, The Berkeley Institute, Delaware State University, Bailbrook College, and flight school in Atlanta, Georgia.

Legislative career

Bean began his career in politics in June 2008, when he was named a Government Senator under then Premier, Dr. Ewart F. Brown. Bean sat in the Senate until 2010, and served as junior for the Minister of Tourism, Transport, Environment, and Sport, and later, the Ministry of Telecommunications, E-Commerce and Energy.

In December 2010, following the retirement of then-Premier Brown, Bean was elected to replace him as the Parliamentary Representative for Constituency 26, Warwick South Central.

In November 2011 Bean was named to the Cabinet of then-Premier Paula Cox, serving as Minister of Environment, Planning and Infrastructure Strategy. He retained this position until December 2012.

Following the PLP's defeat in the 2012 general election, Bean replaced Cox as Party Leader, thereby becoming Bermuda's newest Opposition Leader.

Despite being a part of the traditionally social-democratic and centre-left PLP, Bean has described himself as a classical liberal, an ideology usually associated with the centre-right.^[2]

Opposition leader

After being chosen to lead the PLP Opposition in December 2012, Bean set out to rebuild the party, and regain the confidence of the electorate. But his time as leader was marked by controversy — and internal clashes that saw seven MPs quit his Shadow Cabinet. In March 2015, he was suspended from Parliament for week after he threatened to “take out” government MPs.

Bean quit politics on 4 November 2016, vacating his post as Opposition Leader, Leader of the Bermuda Progressive Labour Party, and MP for Warwick South Central. He was replaced as Opposition Leader by Edward David Burt,^[3] who became premier in the 2017 Bermudian general election

Free Democratic Movement leader

Following the calling of the 2020 election by Bermuda Premier David Burt, Bean announced on September 5, 2020, that he would be leading a new party, called the Free Democratic Movement, to contest the vote. This would be Bermuda's third party to contest the election, in addition to the ruling Progressive Labour Party and the opposition One Bermuda Alliance.

Family and personal life

Bean is Married to his wife, Simone, and has 4 children.

Related Research Articles

Bermuda is the oldest British Overseas Territory, and the oldest self-governing British Overseas Territory, and has a great degree of internal autonomy through authority and roles of governance delegated to it by the national Government. Its parliament held its first session in 1620, making it the third-oldest continuous parliament in the world. As part of the British realm, King Charles III is head of state and is represented in Bermuda by a Governor, whom he appoints on the advice of the British Government. The Governor has special responsibilities in four areas: external affairs, defence, internal security, and policing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Scott (politician)</span> Premier of Bermuda (2003–2006)

William Alexander Scott is a politician in Bermuda who is the MP for the Warwick South East constituency. Between 2003 and 2006 he served as the Premier of Bermuda and leader of the Progressive Labour Party (PLP).

Dame Jennifer Meredith Smith, DBE, JP, DHumL, MP is a Bermudian politician who was the Premier of Bermuda from 1998 until 2003, the first premier who was not a member of the United Bermuda Party.

The United Bermuda Party (UBP) was a political party in Bermuda, which represented itself as centrist party with a moderate social and fiscal agenda. The party held power in Bermuda's House of Assembly continuously from 1968 to 1998, the 47-year-old party was dissolved on 30 June 2011 after the majority of its members joined the One Bermuda Alliance.

The Progressive Labour Party (PLP) is one of the three political parties in Bermuda. At the 18 July 2017 general election, the party won 24 of the 36 seats in the Bermudian House of Assembly to become the governing party. The party was founded in 1963, the first political party in Bermuda, and the oldest still active. It formed government from 1998 to 2012, and again since 2017.

The Gombey Liberation Movement (GLM), originally the Gombey Liberation Party, is a political organisation in Bermuda that contested the 2003 general election. The party did not contest the next election in 2007 and only ran its leader as a candidate in 2011. It eventually transformed itself into an organisation instead of a party having never attained a seat in the Bermuda Parliament.

Ewart Frederick Brown Jr. is a politician and physician who served as the ninth Premier of Bermuda and leader of the country's Progressive Labour Party (PLP) from 2006 to 2010. He represented Warwick South Central as a Member of Parliament from 1993 to 2010.

General elections were held in Bermuda on 18 December 2007 to elect all 36 members of the House of Assembly. The incumbent Progressive Labour Party (PLP) led by Ewart Brown was returned for a third term, with 22 of the 36 seats of the House of Assembly, with the opposition United Bermuda Party (UBP) winning the remaining 14 seats.

Hubert "Kim" E. Swan is a Bermudian professional golfer and politician. He was reelected for the Progressive Labour Party (PLP) in July 2017. He was a member of parliament from 2007 to 2012, where he was Leader of the Opposition of Bermuda from 21 January 2008 until 16 May 2011. He also served as a UBP Senator from 1998 to 2007.

The Bermuda Democratic Alliance (BDA) was a political party in Bermuda which lasted from its foundation in November 2009 until its merger into the One Bermuda Alliance in May 2011.

Paula Ann Cox CBE is a Bermudian politician and former premier of Bermuda. She has been the leader of the Bermuda Progressive Labour Party (PLP), since 28 October 2010. In accordance with the Bermuda Constitution Order 1968, she was appointed Premier of Bermuda, on Friday, 29 October 2010 by Governor Sir Richard Gozney. She was succeeded as Premier by Craig Cannonier on 18 December 2012, when she led her party into election defeat, losing her own seat in the process.

Cyril "C." Eugene Cox was a Bermudian politician. He served as a Bermuda Progressive Labour Party (PLP) MP from Sandys North, as Minister of Finance, and as Deputy Premier. He was the father of Paula Cox, Jeremy Cox, and Robert Cox. Cox first won a seat in Parliament between 1976 and 1980 in Sandys North. Cox was elected Deputy Leader in 1996, and Minister of Finance on 10 November 1998.

The One Bermuda Alliance (OBA) is one of two political parties in Bermuda with elected members of the Bermuda's legislative assembly. It was created in May 2011 by the merger of most members of Bermuda's two non-Labour parties, the United Bermuda Party and the Bermuda Democratic Alliance. It won the 2012 election and governed until 2017. Since then, it has been the official opposition in Bermuda's House of Assembly.

General elections were held in Bermuda on 17 December 2012 to elect all 36 members of the House of Assembly. The result was a victory for the One Bermuda Alliance, led by Craig Cannonier, which won 19 seats in the House of Assembly. The incumbent Progressive Labour Party (PLP) lost five seats and government, and Premier Paula Cox lost her Devonshire North West seat, and resigned as leader of the PLP the next day, with Derrick Burgess becoming Acting Party Leader. Marc Bean became PLP leader on 22 December 2012.

General elections were held in Bermuda on 18 July 2017 to elect all 36 members to the House of Assembly. The result was a victory for the opposition Progressive Labour Party, which won 24 of the 36 seats. Incumbent Premier Michael Dunkley subsequently resigned as leader of the One Bermuda Alliance. Bob Richards, a senior minister and deputy premier in Dunkley's government unexpectedly lost his Devonshire East seat.

Edward David Burt is the Premier of Bermuda and leader of the Progressive Labour Party (PLP). Burt is Bermuda's youngest ever premier, having taken office at the age of 38.

Gloria Juanita McPhee OBE was a Bermudian politician who served as a member of the House of Assembly from 1968 to 1980, representing the United Bermuda Party (UBP). She was a government minister from 1968 to 1977, the first woman appointed to the ministry.

General elections were held in Bermuda on 1 October 2020 to elect all 36 members of the House of Assembly. On 21 August 2020 Premier Edward David Burt announced that Governor of Bermuda John Rankin has accepted his advice to call a snap election. The election resulted in the largest victory for one party since party politics began in Bermuda in 1968, as the Progressive Labour Party won 62% of the vote and 30 of 36 seats.

The Free Democratic Movement (FDM) is the newest of the three political parties in Bermuda. It was founded by former Progressive Labour Party leader Marc Bean in September 2020 to contest the 2020 Bermudian general election on October 1, 2020. It fielded 14 candidates for the 36-seat legislature, winning no seats and placing second in 4 races, with 5% of the vote.

References

↑ Royal Gazette (5 Sept. 2020)
↑ Hayward, Jason (30 August 2016). "Column: Classical Liberalism & Political Ideology". Bernews. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
↑ Royal Gazette (8 Nov 2016)