PHILIPSBURG:--- In a small ceremony on Friday, March 21, the Social Economic Council (SER) bid farewell to its first chairman René Adrien Richardson. Mr. Richardson was at the helm of the SER during the first three years of the institution. As the SER ordinance stipulates a maximum age of 70, Richardson had to step down as a member and chairman of the SER upon reaching that age.
René Richardson was lauded by his successor Arthur Bute for his remarkable contribution to the establishment phase of the SER. The SER was one of the new institutions established after 10-10-10 as a result of Sint Maarten attaining country status within the Kingdom. As such, the SER plays a crucial role in our new constitutional structure, a role that was shaped and given direction by its first chairman, René Richardson. Chairman Bute referred to Richardson's hawkish eye for detail, his decisiveness, but also to the way in which he always left sufficient space for all participants in the sometimes lively and animated discussions within the SER council. The production of the SER during Chairman Richardson's tenure is impressive; 14 advices finalized covering most major socio-economic areas, sometimes making headlines all the way to Curaçao or evoking discussion in the Dutch parliament.
For René Richardson, the chairmanship of the SER was the crown on a vast career spanning decades as a union leader, a politician, and in many other roles in society, weathering the storms of the 1990s and always energetically contributing to the public cause.
In his farewell speech Mr. Richardson thanked fellow members, staff, the cabinet of the Prime Minister, government departments, and funding agency USONA for their invaluable contributions to the sometimes challenging buildup process of the SER. He considered it gratifying that the success of the Sint Maarten SER has drawn the attention of our Kingdom partners in Europe as well as the Caribbean.
Under the aegis of Chairman Richardson, in less than three years the SER developed into a council not only advising government when called upon, but pro-actively engaging in, and often leading the public debate in many socio-economic areas.