a political neophyte.

But Dr. Grant Gibbons said he reflects "the evolving nature of the party.'' The UBP needs fresh faces, said the 40-year-old managing director of the Gibbons Company.

"It's an interesting blend, and I think an important blend, of people with competence and experience who have been there for a while, as well as an influx of new blood that is coming in -- that evolution of change,'' he said yesterday.

The party's new primary rules allowed Dr. Gibbons to launch his political career in Smith's South last October, when he fell just short in challenging newcomer Mr. Trevor Moniz and Tourism Minister the Hon. C.V. (Jim) Woolridge.

"Over the last couple of years, the UBP has been trying to open up its political ranks with its primary process,'' Dr. Gibbons said. "It may not have succeeded from my perspective in that case, but the voters in Smith's South should be pleased in having been given a choice.'' And as campaign chairman in what is almost certainly an election year, there could be advantages to being a newcomer, he said. "If you wish to bring change...it doesn't hurt to be unencumbered with the past,'' he said. "On the other hand those who are unaware of history are doomed to repeat it.'' Dr. Gibbons said he sees his job as a challenge, but feels how close the election will be depends on its timing. And that, he said, is entirely up to the Premier. "It could be closer'' than the last election, he said.

Polling information is among data Dr. Gibbons is now studying, but he would not comment on what he had seen.

Key battlegrounds for the UBP will include St. George's North and Hamilton and Warwick parishes, he said.

And as the governing party, the UBP's challenge will be to communicate to voters what has been accomplished in the present term, he said.

"One of the difficulties with the current situation with the UBP is it's been a Government for some time now,'' he said. "Obviously that has its pros and cons.

"One of my jobs, really, will be to make sure the real accomplishments of the UBP...are clearly out there'' Mainly, Dr. Gibbons said his job is an organisational one -- to make sure the party is ready to win an election which could be called at any time and is almost certain to be held this year.

"I'm certainly going to assess our strengths and perhaps areas where we might need a little bit more help,'' he said.

A Rhodes Scholar, Dr. Gibbons has a Bachelor of Chemistry from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and a doctorate in Chemistry from Harvard. While at Oxford from 1974 to 1976, he studied philosophy, politics, and economics.

After he completed school, Dr. Gibbons worked for five years at the headquarters of Squib Pharmaceuticals in New Jersey, holding the position of director of worldwide licensing when he left the company. In 1987, he returned to Bermuda and joined the family business.