Chief Immigration Officer.

The appointment fills a gap left vacant since the retirement of Neville Smith last June.

Dr. Brewer said he was looking forward to the challenges involved in his new job. "There are changes all the time and keeping up with them is the real challenge," he said.

Dr. Brewer joined the Immigration department in 1987 as assistant immigration officer and subsequently worked with the Attorney General's chambers on several pieces of legislation including the immigration rights of Bermudian women and spouses benefits.

Before his appointment as assistant, Dr. Brewer, 52, was Manpower Services and Training Officer in the Immigration department.

He joined the civil service from the Bermuda College where he was lecturer in geology and geography from 1978 to 1985.

He studied science at Newcastle University, England, and won a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University where he was awarded a doctorate in philosophy in 1970.

Dr. Brewer spent four years as a scientific assistant at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, and was later scientific officer for the Natural Environment Research Council in London.

In his new position Dr. Brewer is responsible for supervising two assistant immigration officers and a staff of more than 50 based at Hamilton and the airport.

Duties will include giving advice to the Home Affairs Minister, Quinton Edness, and maintaining contact with local and overseas consular offices and local labour and employment organisations.

One of his immediate challenges will be the extra construction work generated with the development of the base lands.

"People will be moving out of the hotel and restaurant sectors into construction which will create pressure to have more people in those areas,'' he said.

"I was assistant immigration officer for nine years and did a lot of work on the legislative side. I figured I would like to expand my field to the rest of the department.'' Martin Brewer