SPEAKER of the House of Assembly Stanley Lowe, CBE, in all likelihood will be more bubbly than ever tonight as he hosts the Speaker's Annual Dinner at the Fairmont Southampton.

It has been a tradition going back decades for the Speaker to "dig deep" and shell out in a grand way, wining and dining his guests. Nothing but the best has been the order of the day for these black-tie events. And, as this has already been a momentous year for Speaker Lowe, we will just have to wait and see what, if any, surprises he has in store.

In May of this year he was given a dinner at Camden, the official residence of the Premier, saluting him for his 40 years of unbroken public service. And tonight's dinner is a milestone, being his tenth year as Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Lowe has the distinction of being the longest serving member of Parliament. He is a political survivor! He's the last of those 36 MPs who constituted the first Parliament in 1968 to be elected under Bermuda's new Constitution that put us on the road to universal adult suffrage.

Not only has he seen a lot of parliamentary colleagues of all political persuasions come and go, he has managed to keep his cool, solidly backing his Progressive Labour Party during all the turbulence leading up to its transition in 1998 from a Loyal Opposition party to the ruling party, the Government of the day.

He has been part of those all-night filibusters the PLP engaged in from time to time, keeping the House sitting for unbroken periods of up to 24 hours.He was part of that PLP walkout in 1969 protesting the action of the then-Speaker in ordering the ejection from the public gallery of 50 or more youth, several wearing dashikis who had come to the House directly from an international Black Power conference. They were accused of heckling.

Mr. Lowe was the first PLP member chosen as Speaker of the House. His esteem as the "People's MP", his reputation for fairness together with the respect by MPs on both sides of the political divide for his knowledge of parliamentary procedure, were factors that resulted in his election as Deputy Speaker in November 1995.

As a member of the House Panel of Chairmen, Mr. Lowe was frequently called upon to preside over important Assembly debates. Portfolios he has held included that of Shadow Minister of Community and Cultural Affairs.

Respected for his dedication and quick responses to the needs of his constituents, Mr. Lowe, since his first election in 1968 as a PLP representative for Southampton East, has commanded increasing majorities in successive elections in his constituency. His representations and comments during debate in the House of Assembly have assured his constituents that their voices were heard.

Born and raised in Southampton, Mr. Lowe was educated at Heron Bay School.

Mr. Lowe takes a leading interest in the community's religious, cultural and sporting affairs.

He is one of the pillars of the Southampton Rangers Sports Club which he joined at a young age. He now possesses life membership and sits on the board of trustees.

During his parliamentary career, Mr. Lowe has travelled extensively, representing Bermuda in Commonwealth countries as far off as India.