PAULA Cox replaced her late father Eugene Cox as Finance Minister yesterday in a ministerial reshuffle which also saw Senator Larry Mussenden join the Cabinet as Attorney General and Minister of Justice.

Other changes saw Terry Lister move to Education, as his place at Works & Engineering and Housing was taken by the former Minister Without Portfolio, Ashfield DeVent.

The reshuffle was made necessary by the death two weeks ago of Eugene Cox which left the country without a Finance Minister.

Ms Cox, who had been shouldering the dual responsibilties of Attorney General and Education Minister, had mixed feelings about her move to Finance.

"I think there is an element of emotion because I wouldn't be here but for the death of my father," she said. "Of course, I would rather not be here under these circumstances.

"I think the Ministry of Finance was well served by the late Minister and I think there are a number of issues on the agenda.

"I had two ministries when I woke up this morning, now I have one. And I'm looking forward to being able to devote the time and attention that it requires."

She said she had to speak to many people inside and outside her Ministry to get acquainted with her new job.

"I will want to hear the technical advice of the Financial Secretary," Ms Cox said. "But must also meet with the constituents of the Finance Ministry and hear what they have to say.

"We know that the Minister used to meet with the hotel owners, we know that small businesses have an interest, the retail sector, and you cannot overlook the importance of having a sound regulatory framework and the international environment and making sure that we protect Bermuda's international reputation as well as forging new partnerships."

With his appointment as Attorney General, Sen. Mussenden's career has come full circle.

His legal career in Government began as a summer law student in the Attorney General's chambers, working under Elliott Mottley.

He went on to be appointed a Crown Counsel, before joining the firm of Wakefield Quinn.

Sen. Mussenden said yesterday: "I'm humbled by the chance to serve as Attorney General. And I'm delighted because I actually started my law career in the Attorney General's chambers several years ago.

"I'm looking forward to working with people I knew before and people who, when I was a defence lawyer, were on the opposite side.

"It's a great challenge and I look forward to being able to provide prompt and timely advice to Cabinet."

Before Sen. Mussenden was sworn by Governor Sir John Vereker at Government House yesterday, Premier Alex Scott had introduced the newcomer as someone who had a particular interest in debt collection.

Sen. Mussenden said: "We talked about a number of things and one was that when I was a Crown Counsel I had some minor responsibility for debt collection. That doesn't mean I'll be going out this afternoon running after people who owe the Government money!"

And in the light of recent attacks on the state of the criminal justice system, he said there were areas that could certainly be strengthened.

"As a criminal defence lawyer I had some areas I was interested in that could be improved," Sen. Mussenden said.

"I look forward to working with the Premier and the defence bar and coming to an agreement on what improvements can be made. I look forward to working with all the elements of the criminal justice system on how to ensure that we have the right balance of all the interests there."

Sen. Mussenden is also president of the Bermuda Football Association.

Ashfield DeVent's move to the Ministry of Works & Engineering and Housing is the latest step up in a rapid ascent of the political ladder.

For the former co-host of the radio show Night Talk, the appointment is a great honour.

"I'd like to say how humbled I am that the Premier has trusted me to take what many would think is one of the most important ministries," Mr. DeVent said.

"It's a challenge I'm looking forward to and the main challenge to house everyone in Bermuda. The first thing I have to do is find out what it all means and what I'm actually in charge of.

"Once I get there, I'm sure I'll have the assistance of all my colleagues and the Premier is also a former Works & Engineering Minister. I'm just looking forward to the challenge."

Finding out just how many vacant properties there are in Bermuda is one of the first housing issues Mr. DeVent wants to focus on.

"One thing I would like to see is a full assessment of the houses that are empty and see what we could can do to make sure every unit we have is occupied.

"Then there is high-rise housing. The country collectively has to decide whether it wants to see more of that. We might decide we want to look like Hong Kong. But that's a decision the country has to make."

He described this week's opening of Sir John Swan's eight-storey Atlantis development as positive.

Mr. Lister was delighted to move into education, something in which he said he had a strong personal interest.

"Education is something that's vitally important to the country," Mr. Lister said. "It's something I've had a long interest in. I previously served as chairman of the Berkeley Educational Society and the Berkeley Board of Governors from 1983 to 1993.

"So I have a good feel for some of the issues and challenges. I've been pleased with what has happened in the last five years.

"Since the PLP came into Government, we have had smaller class sizes and that has had a tremendous impact at the primary level. Now some of those children will be starting at the middle school level and so we expect to see that improvement carried through.

"As we continue to upgrade the physical plant with the new Berkeley School and that sort of thing, we'll get to a point where our first-class facilities will match our first-class teachers."

The National Training Board moves from Works & Engineering to the Education department, a move requested by Mr. Lister, who has been in charge of the NTB since the PLP came to power in 1998.

"My first priority is getting on-side with the BUT (Bermuda Union of Teachers) and understanding their concerns, so before we start to move forward as a Government and a Ministry, we have a good working relationship with the BUT, because we can only go forward together," Mr. Lister added.

Premier Scott was pleased with his reshuffle, which saw the Ministry Without Portfolio scrapped.

And he said that the divisions which came to light within the governing party following last July's General Election victory, had not been an issue.

"We feel we've come up with a solid response to a tragic event, the passing of Eugene Cox," Mr. Scott said.

"I wanted to put in place a solution that left the public confident that we had a solid Government in place and I think we've been able to do that.

"No one said we've got too many from this side or that side, I was given a free hand to put the best man or woman in place.

"A blind man could see that Paula Cox would make a good Finance Minister. She has left all the ministries she's worked in better than she found them. We needed someone with integrity that the public could have confidence in and she met all these tests."