As opposition leader, Pintard has focused his parliamentary interventions on the cost of living, fiscal policy, governance and immigration. He has criticised the [[Philip Davis (Bahamian politician)|Davis]] administration over the pace of implementing freedom of information legislation, public procurement practices and alleged politicisation of the immigration system.<ref>{{cite news |title=‘Did Brave really need to make all the trips?’ |work=The Tribune |date=31 May 2022 |url=https://www.tribune242.com/news/2022/may/31/did-brave-really-need-make-all-trips/ |access-date=27 November 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Pintard accuses Davis govt of ‘broken, politicised and corrupt’ immigration system |work=The Tribune |date=14 July 2025 |url=https://www.tribune242.com/news/2025/jul/14/pintard-accuses-davis-govt-of-broken-politicised-and-corrupt-immigration-system/ |access-date=27 November 2025}}</ref>
As opposition leader, Pintard has focused his parliamentary interventions on the cost of living, fiscal policy, governance and immigration. He has criticised the [[Philip Davis (Bahamian politician)|Davis]] administration over the pace of implementing freedom of information legislation, public procurement practices and alleged politicisation of the immigration system.<ref>{{cite news |title=‘Did Brave really need to make all the trips?’ |work=The Tribune |date=31 May 2022 |url=https://www.tribune242.com/news/2022/may/31/did-brave-really-need-make-all-trips/ |access-date=27 November 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Pintard accuses Davis govt of ‘broken, politicised and corrupt’ immigration system |work=The Tribune |date=14 July 2025 |url=https://www.tribune242.com/news/2025/jul/14/pintard-accuses-davis-govt-of-broken-politicised-and-corrupt-immigration-system/ |access-date=27 November 2025}}</ref>
In 2022 the FNM’s vice-chairman [[Richard Johnson (Bahamian politician)|Richard Johnson]] entered into a public dispute with the party leadership after he was barred from attending council meetings and later that year filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court against Pintard and party chairman Dr [[Duane Sands]], challenging his suspension as contrary to the party’s constitution.<ref>{{cite news |title=Supreme Court grants injunction against FNM leader and chairman |work=The Tribune |date=8 March 2023 |url=https://www.bahamaslocal.com/newsitem/291457/Supreme_Court_grants_injunction_against_FNM_leader_and_chairman.html |access-date=27 November 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=BETWEEN Richard Johnson AND Hon. Michael Pintard, MP … AND Dr. Duane Sands – 2022/CLE/gen/01633 |website=Judgments – Supreme Court of The Bahamas |url=https://courts.bs/judgements-posts/between-richard-johnson-and-hon-michael-pintard-mp-sued-on-his-own-behalf-and-in-his-representative-capacity-as-leader-of-the-free-national-movement-and-dr-duane-sands-sued-on-his-own-behalf-and/ |date=22 May 2023 |access-date=27 November 2025}}</ref> In July 2024 Johnson discontinued his legal action against the FNM, saying it had become too expensive to pursue, and by August 2025 he was publicly declaring that he would no longer support the party under its current leadership and would instead back the PLP in the next general election.<ref>{{cite news |title=Johnson drops legal action against the FNM |work=The Tribune |date=1 July 2024 |url=https://www.tribune242.com/news/2024/jul/01/johnson-drops-legal-action-against-the-fnm/ |access-date=16 November 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Former FNM vice chairman Johnson says he backs PLP |work=The Tribune |date=12 August 2025 |url=https://www.tribune242.com/news/2025/aug/12/former-fnm-vice-chairman-johnson-says-he-backs-plp/ |access-date=27 November 2025}}</ref>
== Writing and publications ==
== Writing and publications ==
Bahamian politician (born 1964)
Michael Clifton Pintard (born 3 July 1964) is a Bahamian politician serving as Leader of the Free National Movement and leader of the opposition since 27 November 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Marco City, Grand Bahama since 2017. First appointed in 2010, he served two terms in the Senate. He was the Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources from 2018 to 2021.
Early life and education
[edit]
Pintard was born on 3 July 1964 in Nassau, the son of Laura Pearline Benson (née Hepburn) and John Samuel Pintard.[1][2][3] He received his early education in Nassau and studied agriculture at the College of The Bahamas (now the University of The Bahamas), where he completed an Associate of Arts degree in agriculture.[3][4]
He went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in agronomy from Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Alabama, and later completed graduate-level courses in agricultural economics at McGill University in Montreal, Canada.[4][2] Pintard received the James Michener Scholarship to attend the Caribbean Summer Writers Institute at the University of Miami. College of The Bahamas materials describe him as an internationally certified compliance and anti-money laundering officer and a licensed real estate salesman.[4]
Arts and professional career
[edit]
After completing his studies, Pintard worked as a human resources development consultant, public speaker and writer. Material from the College of The Bahamas describes him as a human resources development consultant who has shared his expertise at conferences and forums in The Bahamas and abroad, including in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Asia and the Caribbean.[4]
He worked mainly through his company Scribes Ltd/Scribes Edutainment, which produced educational and cultural programmes and managed stage productions. In the 1990s and 2000s he wrote and produced a number of plays dealing with social issues such as crime, family conflict and youth violence. These included the drama Not My Child, staged in Freeport, Grand Bahama, in October 2010.[5][4]
Alongside his creative work, Pintard held a number of corporate and consultancy positions. He served as organisational development manager for the Grand Bahama Airport Company, the Freeport Harbour Company and the Freeport Container Port, and later consulted for clients including Vopak Terminal Bahamas and the ministry responsible for the public service.[4] He also acted as a consultant to the Bahamian government in ministries responsible for economic development, tourism, youth, sports and culture, and hosted the radio talk show The Way Forward on GEMS 105.9 FM in The Bahamas.[4]
Pintard is also a founding partner of Congo Town Development Ltd, a Bahamian property company that focuses on housing projects in urban areas. Together with his business partners he developed the Plumbago Gardens residential project in the Fox Hill district of New Providence.[4]
Pintard was first appointed to the Senate of the Bahamas on 19 March 2010 by Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham.[6] He was appointed again for a second term in 2014, when the FNM was in opposition.[7] He ran for the Cat Island, Rum Cay & San Salvador parliamentary constituency in the 2012 Bahamian general election. He tried again in 2017, this time for Marco City, Grand Bahama and won. He was appointed Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources by Hubert Minnis in July 2018. He was in office to oversee and report to the news about Hurricane Dorian in 2019.[8]
Though the Free National Movement was defeated in the 2021 General Election, Pintard was one of seven FNM MP’s to win their seats, having been re-elected in Marco City with 57% of the vote cast.[9] He was elected as the sixth leader of the party during a one-day convention[10] held on 27 November, 2021, defeating fellow Grand Bahama MPs and former Cabinet ministers in the Minnis administration Kwasi Thompson and Iram Lewis by a decisive 2:1 margin. Pintard was appointed leader of the opposition on 29 November 2021.
Leader of the Free National Movement
[edit]
Following the FNM’s electoral defeat, leader and former prime minister Hubert Minnis announced that he would not reoffer for the leadership at the party’s planned one-day convention in November 2021.[11] At the convention, held on 27 November, delegates elected Pintard as the FNM’s sixth leader, giving him 297 votes (about 67 percent) against rivals Kwasi Thompson (120) and Iram Lewis (44).[12][13]
As opposition leader, Pintard has focused his parliamentary interventions on the cost of living, fiscal policy, governance and immigration. He has criticised the Davis administration over the pace of implementing freedom of information legislation, public procurement practices and alleged politicisation of the immigration system.[14][15]
In 2022 the FNM’s vice-chairman Richard Johnson entered into a public dispute with the party leadership after he was barred from attending council meetings and later that year filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court against Pintard and party chairman Dr Duane Sands, challenging his suspension as contrary to the party’s constitution.[16][17] In July 2024 Johnson discontinued his legal action against the FNM, saying it had become too expensive to pursue, and by August 2025 he was publicly declaring that he would no longer support the party under its current leadership and would instead back the PLP in the next general election.[18][19]
Writing and publications
[edit]
Pintard has published several works of poetry and non-fiction. His first book, Still Standing: Poetry (1995), is a collection of poems used as an English literature text in Bahamian high schools. Textbook and bookseller descriptions note that it addresses issues such as social inequality, poverty and violence in Bahamian society, including what they describe as the “black crab syndrome“.[20][21][4]
In 2001 he published Follow Your Dreams, a short inspirational book for young readers described by the College of The Bahamas as an “inspiring piece of literature” and catalogued as Bahamian children’s literature, illustrated by artist James O. Rolle.[22][23][4]
His 2003 book Politricks: A Confidential Handbook for Politicians, Aspiring Politicians and Political Soldiers, published by Scribes Limited, is described in College of The Bahamas material as a work that takes a humorous yet pointed look at “the games people play in politics”.[4] During the June 2025 budget debate, Prime Minister Philip Davis quoted several tongue-in-cheek passages from Pintard’s book and suggested that the Opposition had adopted its “playbook”, using it to criticise what he described as their disruptive tactics in Parliament.[24]
Pintard is married to attorney Berlice Lightbourne. The couple have a daughter, Micaela, and live in Freeport, Grand Bahama.[4][6][25] Berlice Lightbourne-Pintard has spoken publicly on issues relating to women in the workplace and has been active in FNM women’s organisations.[26]
In May 2023, as Leader of the Opposition, Pintard and his wife attended the Coronation of Charles III and Camilla as part of the official Bahamian delegation led by Prime Minister Philip Davis.[27]
- Pintard, Michael (1995). Still Standing: Poetry. Guanima Press. ISBN 976-9508-40-3.
- Pintard, Michael (2001). Follow Your Dreams. ISBN 976-8108-50-9.
- Pintard, Michael (2003). Politricks: a confidential handbook for politicians, aspiring politicians and political soldiers. Scribes Ltd. ISBN 976-9508-41-1.
