The Royal Gazette April, 11, 1959 pg 1

The first coloured legislator to go on the Executive Council is Mr. Wesley Leroy Tucker, M.C.P. His appointment as an unofficial member was announced yesterday.

Mr. Tucker, who lives in Pembroke and has a family of three, first entered the House of Assembly in 1953 and was returned unopposed, along with the other three Devonshire representatives in the last general election.

The new Executive Councillor is the owner and manager of Tucker's Commission Agency in Hamilton, a firm which he founded about 23 years ago. Before that time he was the manager of the now defunct Quality Bakery, having gone to that firm as an accountant from school in Canada.

The son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Frank Robinson Tucker, the Hon. W. L. Tucker is the father of a 20-year-old daughter and a 17-year-old son who are attending school in Canada, and has a younger son at school in Bermuda.

Active on many Government bodies, including the Crown Lands Corporation, the Immigration Board, the Public Transportation Board, and the Civil Service Commission, Mr. Tucker is the chairman of a committee at persent [sic] working on the problem of the franchise in Bermuda.

As far as is known Mr. Tucker is not a replacement on the Executive Council, and when asked his opinion on his appointment, replied: "That also occurred to me today. All I can say is that I might be blazing the path for my people. If I can justify the appointment - and I am well aware of the responsibilities - I think that my people in future will have a more active part in the administration of the Colony. Coloured people must participate more fully in Government, and I think that the door has been opened."

There was applause from Assemblymen when the Speaker, Sir John Cox, extended his congratulations to Mr. Tucker on his appointment when the House of Assembly met yesterday.

Mr. Tucker was not present at the meeting.