Your Excellency:
I thank you for most graciously appointing me as the fourth Prime Minister in an independent Bahamas.
I thank you for your gracious hospitality, and that of the fine staff of Government House.
I wish to thank the many people who are here today, including special guests, party colleagues, well-wishers and constituents of Killarney.
I thank also my wife Patricia, my Father, Randolph Minnis, family and dear friends for their love and support.
I remember today all those on whose shoulders I stand, including my mother Rosalie North, and my sister Doris Hall, who though long departed, is forever in my heart.
Your Excellency:
Today represents a new day for the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. It is a new day steeped in ancient traditions.
Today also represents a renewal and reaffirmation of our democratic heritage.
Exercising a cherished right that is still not universal, the Bahamian people freely elected a new government.
We will honour this mandate for change.
Though we are a small country, our democracy is rightly the envy of many countries throughout the world that mark the manner of our bearing.
Yesterday’s general election was peaceful and free from violence.
With civility and nobility, Bahamians from all walks of life joined hands and hearts to forge a new direction for our country.
Now we are witnessing another orderly transfer of power.
With tremendous gratitude I again thank the Bahamian people for reposing their trust in my party.
We will honour this trust with an unwavering commitment to good governance, the rule of law, transparency and accountability.
We will respect the Constitution. And we will abide by the longstanding and tested conventions of our parliamentary democracy.
I thank my colleagues for reposing their confidence in me as Prime Minister.
In turn, I pledge an unwavering commitment to collegiality, collaboration and collective responsibility.
Ours is an extraordinary system of government. I will honor the spirit and traditions of our democratic heritage.
Your Excellency:
On behalf of my colleagues, I pledge our commitment to serve with integrity as Her Majesty’s Bahamas Government. I look forward to the most cordial relations with Your Excellency in the service of our country.
We commit ourselves to the common good of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.
We rely on the blessings of Almighty God, who is the source of all power and grace.
I thank you and good afternoon.
