It is only 14 years since Dr. Grant Gibbons first appeared on the political radar.

But within a few months of entering the world of politics he won acclaim for master-minding the United Bermuda Party's successful 1993 election campaign.

On his way to eventually leading the UBP, Dr. Gibbons oversaw negotiations for the withdrawal of the US Navy from Southside and Morgan's Point, brought ground-breaking deregulation to Bermuda's telecommunications market and set up the Bermuda Land Development Company.

The speed of his accomplishments in the political field are matched by those he enjoyed in the world of academia, studying at Oxford and Harvard universities and writing an important doctorate on synthetic organic chemistry with the support of the late Nobel Laureate Robert Woodward.

The Gibbons' family can trace its Bermudian roots back to the 1620s and in recent times has become one of the most recognisable business names on the Island involved in retail, banking and insurance.

Dr. Gibbons was born in 1953 and studied at Saltus Grammar School before going to boarding school at the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts in the mid-1960s and then on to Brown University at Rhode Island studying chemistry.

He then attended Queens College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and was awarded a Master of Arts degree in philosophy, politics and economics.

From there he studied organic chemistry at Harvard University, from which he received a PhD in 1982 having written, with the encouragement of Professor Woodward, a doctorate on synthetic organic chemistry. During the period of 1978 to 1983 he was also on the board of his former educational home Brown University.

Dr. Gibbon's accomplishments in the field of chemistry served him well as he entered the world of pharmaceutical marketing with the Squibb Corporation (now Bristol-Myers Squibb) holding a variety of management positions in marketing, planning and licensing.

In 1983 he married wife Kathryn and the couple had their first son Graham in 1986, followed by Andrew the following year.

After 20 years overseas, Dr. Gibbons and his family moved back to Bermuda in 1987 when he became managing director of Gibbons Company and of Peniston Brown Co Ltd and a number of other roles in the commercial sector, including a directorship with the Bank of Bermuda.

Before entering politics Dr. Gibbons was a member of the Public Services Commission, was vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce and sat on the Bermuda College board from 1988 to 1992.

It was 1992 when he first stepped into politics, running in a Smith's South primary contest for the UBP against Jim Woolridge and Trevor Moniz.

Although unsuccessful he was called up as chairman for the UBP campaign team that led Sir John Swan to his October 1993 22-18 victory .

Dr. Gibbons' reward was a place on the Senate and, in January the follow year, he was made Minister of Management and Technology. It was in this role that he was instrumental in leading negotiations on the withdrawal of the US Navy from Bermuda, turning the Airport into a civilian operation and overseeing talks to terminate the lease of and set in motion remediation work for the US Baselands.

In the mid-1990s Dr. Gibbons set up the Bermuda Land Development Company and in his role as minister responsible for telecommunications introduced competition to Bermuda's hitherto Cable and Wireless monopolised market, paving the way for market deregulation before many major overseas countries did likewise.

When Sir John stepped down as UBP leader in September 1995, following the unsuccessful Independence referendum, the subsequent reshuffle of the Government resulted in Dr. Gibbons becoming Finance Minister under leaders David Saul and Pamela Gordon until November 1998 when the PLP won the general election.

In Opposition, the Paget East MP continued to hold the Shadow Finance Minister post and became deputy leader and then was chosen by the party to be leader in October 2001.

Away from politics he is currently deputy chairman of Colonial Insurance, managing partner and a founder of venture capital investment firm Wired Atlantic Ltd. He is a director of Gibbons Management Services Ltd, and a director of other financial services and technology companies overseas.

He is a member of the American Chemical Society, the New York Academy of Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is a Trustee Emeritus of Brown University.