United Bermuda Party Leader Kim Swan is calling for Bermuda to name a national hero every year to encourage people to follow the examples of great Bermudians of the past.

No national hero was picked for 2009, after last year saw Dame Lois Browne-Evans chosen as the first recipient of the award a year after she died.

Former Culture Minister Dale Butler had said Government could not name one in 2009 as it was embroiled in a lengthy process of drawing up criteria to establish who could qualify.

Mr. Butler said that was being done at the request of the Opposition, which feared the Progressive Labour Party would use the process to score political points.

But Mr. Swan says Bermuda's 400th anniversary is an ideal opportunity to reflect on those people that helped make the Island a better place.

"The Bermuda Government is letting pass a glorious opportunity to celebrate the people — the national heroes — who helped make Bermuda better place to live," said Mr. Swan in a statement.

"We are mystified that during the course of this, our 400th anniversary year, we have not named a national hero or heroes whose accomplishments and lives we can celebrate.

"It has been two years since the Government committed to honouring national heroes, and yet it appears to have dropped the ball during this historically important year.

"It is not too late to do something. There is a critical need in Bermuda today for its leaders, particularly its political leaders, to use every opportunity to bring people closer together. Indeed I see it as not just a national duty but a moral imperative."

Culture Minister Neletha Butterfield, who took over from Mr. Butler this summer, said she was currently looking at all initiatives under her remit.

Asked about Mr. Swan's suggestion, she said: "I look forward to a response as soon as I have had the opportunity to review what is in place now."

Mr. Swan continued: "Ultimately, the goal for the celebration of 400 years should be to bring us closer together as one people.

"If we can say at year-end that we sharpened our sense of who we are as Bermudians; if we can see that we constitute an extraordinary family of people living together in a tough world, we will have done well.

"One step we can take is to revive the vision and commitment to the idea of national heroes and to use the remaining time this year to celebrate lives that have shaped this country for the better.

"There are so many great Bermudians we can focus on to build a better understanding of the island. Sir Henry Tucker, Dr. E.F. Gordon, Sir Edward Richards, Lady Cubitt of the Lady Cubitt Compassionate Association and members of the Progressive Group are people who come to mind."