Gazette today turns the spotlight on UBP member for Smith's South Mr. Trevor Moniz.

Being elected to the House of Assembly is just one of the reasons 1993 will be a milestone for 39-year-old attorney Mr. Trevor Moniz.

He will also remember it as the year he started building a house and got married.

"I'm trying to do everything before I'm 40,'' he says. "It's been entirely hectic all year. I haven't had a holiday, I've had about two days off.

"Between building the house and getting married and running a law practice and running for Parliament, it's been pretty busy.'' Mr. Moniz and his Polish-French girlfriend, Bermuda High School teacher Ms Yola Ciechanowska, have known each other seven years.

They met through friends at the Maritime Museum and continued a long-distance relationship until two years ago, when globe-trotting Ms Ciechanowska moved to the Island.

The couple hope to marry in a civil ceremony this week -- before Friday's convening of Parliament.

They will have a church wedding in Normandy, France, on New Year's Eve, and next year they hope to move into the new house on the Moniz family estate in Smith's.

Amid this whirlwind of activity, Mr. Moniz finds stability in his roots in the parish and in the Island's Portuguese community.

His great-grandfather on his father's side came to Bermuda from the US eastern seaboard at the turn of the century. It was a farming family who canned and exported tomatoes.

His mother's family, who were Tavares from the Azores, have been in Bermuda since about 1850.

Mr. Moniz still comes across Smith's folk who have fond memories of his farming grandfather, M.J. Moniz, and even his great grandfather.

"They say goodwill is like money in the bank, and I think I've inherited goodwill from my father and my forebears.

"I've got real roots in Smith's, and the family history is farming. I think it gives you a certain continuity -- it means you're attached to the land, to a certain place and a community.'' He was a "bookworm'' as a child, quiet and introverted but reading everything he came across.

Then, when he was 11, another year of momentous events arrived. This was 1965, which he now sees as a crucial point in his life.

"I was informed I had won a department of education secondary school scholarship, and my parents were very proud. Then, that same summer, a very short time afterwards, my father died aged 43.

"It was one of the happiest times of my life and also the saddest time.'' Mr.

Moniz's mother had to go to work to support her family, and they prepared for hard times.

"It was at that time that I went through a very difficult period of trying to assess my life and the finality of things.'' The young Mr. Moniz began to think about his aims in life. "I wanted a career that would be useful to the community and I wanted to be independent.

"It would have been easy for me to have drifted off into a more esoteric area, but I decided no.

"I realised you have to make a living and be independent. I became more focused and aware of the world in my teenage years. I became determined to make my mark on the world.'' After Saltus Grammar School and the Academic Sixth Form Centre (now Bermuda College), Mr. Moniz went to King's College, London. He was called to the UK Bar in 1976, and went to Toronto to study business administration.

He returned to Bermuda in 1980, formed his present legal partnership Moniz and George in 1986, and entered politics when he felt the firm was established. He was approved as a UBP candidate in 1990.

He does free legal work for the Portuguese Cultural Association and the Maritime Museum.

Politically, he wants to continue working for long-term Portuguese residents, and for the improvement of laws protecting consumers and ancient shipwrecks.

His main relaxation is tennis, and he follows current affairs and politics avidly.

"The latest book I'm reading is a history of the US Supreme Court, which is fantastic.'' It seems a trace of the quiet, bookish youngster remains in the man who is about to enter the boisterous, no-holds-barred arena of the House of Assembly.

"I enjoy reading and socialising with close friends. I'm not an extrovert -- I enjoy being around people that I feel totally comfortable with.'' MR. TREVOR MONIZ -- `I'm trying to do everything before I'm 40.'