‘A giant of the development movement’ - Jamaican economist and former CDB head Dr Warren Smith dies

Jamaican economist Dr Warren Smith, a "giant" of regional development and former president of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), died on Friday, the institution has announced.

"The Caribbean has lost a giant of the development movement. However, the work he began is now ours to carry forward...," said Daniel Best, the current president of the development finance institution, in a statement.

Smith served as the bank’s fifth president, from May 2011 to April 2021.

“During his decade at the helm, he guided the institution and its borrowing member countries through an era marked by profound global and regional shocks, including two major global crises that heavily impacted the Caribbean,” the CDB said.

It said Smith strengthened the bank’s role as a trusted development partner, mobilising resources to support sustainable growth, resilience-building, and social and economic transformation across its borrowing member countries.

“His leadership placed renewed emphasis on climate resilience, disaster risk management and innovative development financing,” the bank said, noting that he worked with regional and international partners to design instruments that helped Caribbean states respond to and recover from natural hazards and external shocks.

The CDB said Smith also championed good governance, sound economic management and strong regional institutions as foundations for inclusive development.

“Colleagues across the Bank remember him as a thoughtful, principled leader whose decisions were always anchored in his deep commitment to the people of the Caribbean,” it added.

meanwhile, the current CDB president has hailed Smith for his “unwavering belief in what the bank could and should represent for the region”.

“Smith was a mentor and a guide to me at many critical junctures during my career. He devoted his life’s work to the proposition that Caribbean people deserve strong, modern institutions that are fully on their side,” Best said.

“He demanded excellence from those around him because he believed deeply in our collective responsibility to serve the Caribbean with integrity, rigour and purpose.”

In recognition of his contribution to regional and national development, Smith received several honours, including Jamaica’s Order of Distinction (Commander Class).

The CDB said a condolence book will be opened for public signing at the bank’s Wildey headquarters in Barbados on Monday, February 2.

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