Gazette today talks to Government Senate Leader the Hon. Lynda Milligan-Whyte.

Bermuda's new Minister of Legislative and Women's Affairs was striving for a united Bermuda long before she first entered the political arena.

In her first interview since being appointed to the newly-created portfolio and as Government Senate Leader, Sen. Lynda Milligan-Whyte told The Royal Gazette ever since she was a teenager she wanted to contribute to making Bermuda a better place.

Recalling that at 16 she and a group of other Berkeley Institute students were invited to a private function held by the United Bermuda Party's first leader the late Sir Henry Tucker, Sen. Milligan-Whyte said: "He talked about our involvement in Bermuda as young people and as young adults and what the opportunities were.

"And from that moment on I bought into the concept that if all the people of Bermuda worked together, we could achieve an ideal society.'' Noting that she and most of the other youngsters invited to meet Sir Henry were children of blacks who had joined or had close links to the UBP -- Sen.

Milligan-Whyte's father Mr. Earl Jones was one of the first blacks to join the party -- she said: "I wanted to contribute to making Bermuda a better place because I grew up in a community which was segregated, having gone to an all-black school, albeit it was one of the best schools in Bermuda.

"But we didn't get to meet our counterparts in the white community. And I think that is to Bermuda's disadvantage.'' Sen. Milligan-Whyte said while she understood the Progressive Labour Party's focus on blacks, she "did not feel that the means to achieving a better society was by focusing on race''.

She also noted that Sir Henry told the students he was prepared to change the legislative system and the constitution to enshrine some basic rights, but it would not guarantee a change of people's hearts nor open up opportunities for them.

"So I recognised at an early age that each individual has a part to play,'' Sen. Milligan-Whyte said. "A lot of people feel that Government needs to do everything for them, create the opportunity to make it happen for them. But I, at an early age, realised that it was up to me to make a difference and to acquire the skills.'' What followed was a varied career path, including five years as an X-Ray technician followed by university training -- inspired by a Queen's University course at the Bermuda College -- which resulted in a Bachelor of Arts degree in politics and history and a Master of Arts in public administration and economics eight months later.

She returned home in 1976 to teach history and civics at her alma mater.

But she said right away she noticed a "big difference'' between Berkeley at that time and the high school she attended in the 1960s.

"The whole focus of Berkeley had changed,'' she recalled. "It used to be a high school that focused on academics and discipline.

"I felt the Berkeley at that time had lost it focus and did not have a sense of direction, so the students therefore also felt that lack of direction.

"I remember a class that I was assigned to teach, which was a group of students who really had not passed exams and they were just waiting until they were 16 to leave school.

"I proceeded to teach history and they were just not interested and they let me know they were not interested in learning. So I sat on the desk and asked them what are you interested in talking about. One of the students said sex and another said death, so I actually spent six weeks talking to students about what they wanted to talk about.'' After those six weeks, Sen. Milligan-Whyte said the students wanted to know when they were going to study history.

"I was then able to get through to them and many of those students have gone on to do very well,'' she said. "It taught me a very valuable lesson. When there is a discipline problem or lack of interest, the traditional ways of dealing with that don't work.

"You have to get the trust of these young people and in order to get the trust you have to listen to them. You have to really, genuinely find out what's on their minds because that's what's preventing them. When they feel that you've been able to respect them and listen to them, then they are prepared to listen to you.'' But she said she left teaching after one year because she could see that education reform was required back then.

"I did not want to become part of the problem. I wanted to become part of the solution,'' she said. "So I left teaching to study law (although) I initially wanted to do international affairs.'' At that time, Sen. Milligan-Whyte was toying with the idea of earning her PhD in international affairs and working for the United Nations.

But noting there were many unemployed people with doctorate degrees, she said she decided to seek a law degree with the focus on international affairs, although she later changed her focus to corporate law.

Sen. Milligan-Whyte received her law degree after three years and worked in Canada before returning to Bermuda to work for Appleby, Spurling & Kempe law firm. While stressing that she was "delighted'' to work at the firm, Sen.

Milligan-Whyte said she realised if she remained she might not have been able to pursue many independent business ventures.

"I had taken a look at Bermuda and I was very disappointed that things hadn't change for blacks economically,'' she admitted. "I tried to understand why. I felt that a large part of it was that there were no very strong black institutions and there wasn't a strong business network either.

"There were also very few other black corporate lawyers.'' In 1988, Sen. Milligan-Whyte left Appleby, Spurling & Kempe and started her own firm, Milligan-Whyte & Smith.

"I tried to build an institution that would facilitate the development of new businesses and these businesses would not necessarily be black businesses but blacks would be able to participate in them.'' Since starting her law firm, Sen. Milligan-Whyte has set up Bermuda's first non-banking stock brokerage firm, First Bermuda Securities, which she has since sold her interest in and she is now one of the major shareholders and chairman of the board of Matheson Investment Management, a small investment management company affiliated with Hong Kong trading company Jardine Matheson which is domiciled in Bermuda.

"It's a new business and a new opportunity for shareholders, many of them black,'' she said.

While noting that she has never focussed her career on women's issues, the former head of the Women's Advisory Council stressed that her goal to make Bermuda a better place has never wavered.

"My career has focused on economic issues and trying to create new opportunities,'' Sen. Milligan-Whyte said. "But I welcome the opportunity to assist women in whatever direction I can.'' She stressed that she will work to put new laws in place to ensure "that equality of opportunity is something that becomes an acceptable value in our community''.

Sen. Milligan-Whyte said she would also like to compile a list of women from all walks of life in Bermuda which Ministers can consult when looking for women to serve on various Government boards.

"The Premier decided that the focus should be on women because there is still a lot to be done.

"I think the Premier, by making this appointment, indicated that we still have some issues to address which singularly relate to women, but are not exclusively women's problems. They impact on us all.'' Noting that much of Bermuda's resources were being wasted when young girls have children, Sen. Milligan-Whyte said her Ministry will focus on reaching those between the ages of 12 to 18 because that is where one can effect change.

"We can single out these girls and find out why they have children so young.

Is it a lack of education or is it a cultural thing? "... I would like to be able to isolate certain problems away from Human Affairs.''