the National Liberal Party, he said yesterday.

But the NLP may ask current leader Mr. Gilbert Darrell to stay on, Mr.

Outerbridge revealed to The Royal Gazette .

Mr. Darrell, 72, who has led the NLP since it was formed in 1984, said in December he plans to step down this year. Mr. Outerbridge's announcement brings to two the number of possible successors.

Mr. Charles Jeffers, a Bermudian who has lived in Toronto since 1987 but is expected to return to the Island this summer, has also expressed interest in the post.

"I'm definitely considering it,'' Mr. Outerbridge said. However, "it's not even clear whether Gilbert is going to step down. There's a good likelihood I can see that many of us will want him to stay on.'' Mr. Darrell said he had to step down because he was unable to hold the party's only seat in the 1993 general election.

"He is from our point of view a little harsh on himself,'' Mr. Outerbridge said. "It's a collective effort.'' Mr. Outerbridge, 43, is a former NLP chairman and has run three times for the party in Smith's South, garnering 283 votes to finish last in a five-candidate race in 1993.

"A large degree of my involvement with the National Liberal Party has been predicated on supporting Gilbert,'' and "I see him as the leader,'' he said.

As for Mr. Jeffers, Mr. Outerbridge said "he was a very central part of the NLP before he left here,'' and "he's got every right to have a clear shot at it.'' He did not feel Mr. Jeffers' time away from Bermuda was a drawback. In fact, it could be an advantage, he said. "He's seen the big picture. He's seen unemployment in Canada.'' Mr. Outerbridge felt his own travels, like trips to China and the former Soviet Union, had helped his political view.

Married with three children, Mr. Outerbridge attended Whitney Institute, Saltus Grammar, Bishop's College School and the University of Maryland.

Mr. Graeme Outerbridge