He’s lost elections and leadership battles, been through spells as public enemy number one for his blunt approach to finances, and even been accused of taking bribes from the Canadian government.

But considering what Bob Richards has been through in his personal life, the trials and tribulations of Bermuda politics were easy to handle.

“When you lose a child, all other disappointments are easy. I lost my first child. These low points are more like inconveniences to me,” Mr Richards said of his experiences during two decades as a senator and MP.

“People wonder how I can stand up in front of angry crowds. That’s nothing compared to what I have had to deal with. Nothing. The loss of my son has made me bulletproof to all that.”

Not that the former finance minister — the son of Bermuda’s first premier, Sir Edward Richards — has been on the receiving end the whole time.

“I got satisfaction from dealing blows to others,” said the 69-year-old.

“I have been very, very fortunate to see what it is as a child of a politician. I saw what my father went through, to know the kind of things you have to deal with, but I still had to toughen up myself.”

And although he did not retire on his own terms — losing his Devonshire East seat to Christopher Famous on July 18 — there were enough good times for him to reflect of his father: “He would have been proud.”

Chief among them was the passing of airport legislation, despite much public opposition, which Mr Richards believes was crucial to the economic recovery of the island, and his last Budget, delivered in February, which showed his financial survival plan “was becoming real”.

Not bad for someone who admitted: “I never wanted to be a lawyer or a politician. That was my mantra until I was 50.”

That defeat to Mr Famous may have been painful, but he said: “I’m relieved. My plan was to get re-elected and to see the balanced budget through and then to sail off. The election has just hastened my departure by two years.

“I really had to think long and hard about running in this election. At 69, you can really think of better things to do in your life at my age.

“The main objective was to put the economy on an even keel. It became pretty clear to me early on that we were not going to be able to do that in five years.

“The only thing I ever wanted to do in politics was to be Minister of Finance. I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity to do that. Who would have know that an opportunity came at such a time of crisis? Be careful what you ask for.

“I do feel that the job is not finished, but the path to get there is clearly laid out. I hope the new government continues to follow that path because if they do, Bermuda will be better off, government will be better off and in much better shape. Now the only thing I care about it the fortunes of Bermuda.”

Reflecting on a job not quite finished, he continued: “You have frustration on one hand, but that’s balanced with a removal of pressure and stress on the other hand.

“During the count I realised that we weren’t going to win. I just felt the load lift off my shoulders from there. Three-quarters through the count, I went over and congratulated Mr Famous. I realised the cake had been baked.”

He did not take defeat personally, explaining: “If you are going to do a good job as Minister of Finance, you have to be prepared to make difficult and unpopular decisions and there’s no Minister of Finance in the history of Bermuda who came into a situation where the country was on the precipice of going into an irreversible dive. The dive had already started.

“I had to convey some tough and difficult messages to the people of Bermuda. I had to do it in a way that people perhaps didn’t like; it had to be done in a blunt and firm way.

“It was a monumental job. I’m satisfied I did the best I could and I think my best was good enough because it did work and was working.”

Mr Richards describes the passage of legislation for the airport development as one of the high points of his political career.

However, the controversy surrounding the project shone a light on the public perception of Bermuda’s politicians that leaves a tone of sadness.

“I had people accuse me of taking bribes from the Canada government, or Aecon,” he recalled.

“I would have not thought anybody could think that. When people get to the stage where they’re deciding about which ‘set of crooks’ to put in power ... I really hope that we have not reached that stage because we will only have pain in the future if that is so.

“I think the OBA has to look into the reason why that happened.”

• This article was amended to clarify that Mr Richards’s father, Sir Edward Richards, was Bermuda’s first premier — not merely Bermuda’s first black premier as initially reported. His predecessor Sir Henry Tucker had the title of Government Leader