| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Bahamian |
| Born | (1945-10-23)23 October 1945 Nassau, Bahamas |
| Died | 28 June 2017(2017-06-28) (aged 71) Florida, United States |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Sprinting |
Event | 100 metres |
Bernard J. Nottage,MD (23 October 1945 – 28 June 2017) was a Bahamiansprinter,gynecologist and politician.[1][2] He competed in themen's 100 metres and200 metres at the1968 Summer Olympics.[3][4] He finished sixth in the1967 Pan American Games 200 metres.[5]
Dr. Nottage attended theUniversity of Aberdeen.[6] His brother,Kendal, as youth and sports minister, was instrumental in bringingMuhammad Ali to the Bahamas for his controversiallast fight in December 1981.[1][7]
Nottage was born inNassau, Bahamas, on 23 October 1945.[8] He attended theUniversity of Aberdeen in Scotland, studying medicine.[9] Whilst at Aberdeen, he won athletics titles in the 100 yards and 200 yards in three consecutive years in the late 1960s.[4] He also competed internationally for Scotland during the same time.[4]
At the1967 Pan American Games inWinnipeg, Nottage finished in sixth place in themen's 200 metres.[10] The following year, at the1968 Summer Olympics inMexico City, Nottage competed in three events.[4] He competed in themen's 100 metres,[11] themen's 200 metres,[12] and themen's 4 × 100 metres relay,[13] but did not advance from the heats in any of the events.[3] In the relay event, the team set a newnational record that lasted for 25 years.[14]
In 1976, Nottage became the President of theBahamas Amateur Athletic Association, and became the President of theCentral American and Caribbean Athletic Confederation six year later.[3] In 1988, he was elected to a vice-presidential regional role of theInternational Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF).[4]
Nottage returned to the Bahamas and had a career inobstetrics andgynecology.[3] In 1986, he went on to become the medical director at St. Luke's Medical Center in Nassau.[3]
In 1987, Nottage became an MP with theProgressive Liberal Party.[4] His political career continued, and he served as theMinister of Health, theMinister of Education (1990-1992),[8] the Minister of Consumer Affairs (1989-1990),[8] and theMinister of National Security.[15] He was appointedLeader of the Opposition from 1993 to 1997.[8] He was appointed asMinister of National Security from 2012 to 2017.[16] In 2000, he resigned from the Progressive Liberal Party to become the leader of theCoalition for Democratic Reform party.[3]
He died in June 2017 inFlorida, at the age of 71,[4][17] with his body lying in state at theHouse of Assembly.[18]
