Paul Scoon - Biography

Biography

Sir Paul was born on 4 July 1935 in Gouyave, a town on the west coast of Grenada. He attended St. John's Anglican School and then the Grenada Boys' Secondary School. Scoon then received an external degree from the University of London before going on to study at the University of Leeds, England and gaining an M.Ed. at the University of Toronto, Canada. He returned to Grenada to teach at the Grenada Boys' Secondary School. Following a career rising from Chief Education Officer to finally becoming Secretary to the Cabinet, the head of Grenada's Civil Service. He was awarded the OBE in 1970 and in 1973 he returned to London to fill the post of Deputy Director of the Commonwealth Foundation. In 1978 he was appointed Governor General of Grenada by Queen Elizabeth II.

In 1979 the New Jewel Movement overthrew Prime Minister Sir Eric Gairy. This movement was led by Maurice Bishop and his former pupils, Bernard Coard and Hudson Austin.

Initially arrested by the new government, Scoon was soon released and Bishop and Scoon managed to maintain a semi-normal working relationship, despite the fact that Scoon strongly opposed Bishop's Provisional Revolutionary Government. Bishop agreed to retain Grenada's status as a constitutional monarchy and the symbolic position of the governor general. Scoon was happy to remain in office, providing a degree of stability in the situation, despite irritation at the curtailment of some of his privileges. He developed a cordial relationship with Bishop, playing tennis with him and maintaining his reputation for discretion.

When Bishop was in turn deposed and killed in a counter-coup in 1983, Scoon was once again imprisoned, this time by Dr Bernard Coard.

Operation Urgent Fury was launched by US forces in 1983 and deposed the radical elements which had assumed control of the Government. Prior to the invasion Scoon communicated with the leaders of several other Caribbean nations, who had been encouraging the US to invade Grenada and depose Coard. Endorsing the move, Scoon also communicated with the British and American governments, though he was later criticized for having insufficient communication with the Thatcher administration in London, and Queen Elizabeth II, Grenada's head of state.

When the invasion occurred, one of the first steps was to free Scoon. This highly risky task was assigned to the US Navy SEALs. A three-day siege was launched against the governor general's residence, where Scoon had been placed under house arrest. Scoon and his family were eventually liberated, and the American and Caribbean governments immediately recognized him as Grenada's only legal ruler.

Though constitutionally able to assume full power during this leadership vacuum, Scoon instead used his authority to appoint Nicholas Brathwaite as acting head of government until post-invasion elections could be held. Scoon retired from his post in 1992.

Scoon published a book entitled Survival for Service that provides a personal account of his experiences as Governor General of Grenada. The accuracy of some of this book has been questioned by Richard Hart and Jeremy Taylor.