Former colleagues remembered Lancelot Inglis Swan JP as a "very decent man'' and as a committed politician last night.

Mr. Swan, who passed away this weekend, served as the country's first ever Youth and Sport Minister and was instrumental in bringing the Outward Bound programme to Bermuda in 1970.

Mr. Swan and his wife, Esme (Warner) Swan, were among those honoured in the Millennium Queen's New Year's Honour List for their participation in the ground-breaking Theatre Boycott of 1959. Both Mr. Swan and his wife received Queen's Certificates and Badges of Honour for their work with the Progressive Lancelot Swan: Island's first youth minister Mr. Swan was a long-serving member for St. George's South. He first came to Parliament in 1968 and was immediately appointed to the Executive Council (ExCo) -- the precursor of the Cabinet.

The speedy appointment to the ExCo was considered fairly unusual for a newly elected MP, The Royal Gazette was told. Mr. Swan's appointment under then Premier Sir Henry Tucker was seen as a signal there was going to be change, colleagues said.

Mr. Swan also served in the Cabinet of Sir David Gibbons. "He was a very nice, very dedicated, very honest man,'' Sir David said last night. "He worked very hard for the youth of Bermuda.'' Sir David noted Mr. Swan's efforts in starting the Outward Bound program and the Duke of Edinburgh awards. "I had a great affection for him,'' he said.

"His standards for integrity, honesty and hard work were exemplary.'' DeForest (Shorty) Trimingham was another fellow Cabinet minister of Mr. Swan in the 1970s. He said that Mr. Swan was "very popular in the party''. "He was an extremely nice man and an awful lot of fun,'' said Mr. Trimingham. "He was very human and quite wise.'' Several generations enjoyed and benefited from Mr. Swan's efforts in creating Outward Bound, former Cabinet colleague F. John Barritt said.

"Lenny was a low-key person,'' Mr. Barritt said. "He didn't speak much but he was sincere in his ExCo role.'' One particular youth Mr. Swan had an effect on when he was Minister for Youth and Sport was UBP Senator Kim Swan.

Mr. Swan told the Royal Gazette that he attended a youth parliament overseen by the then minister in the 1970s. "It was really my introduction to politics,'' he said. "Those sorts of things stay with you for a long time.'' "He was a dear friend,'' he added. "He was very sensitive to social issues.

You could count on him as Minister to bring forth a point of view with a social conscience.'' Lancelot Inglis Swan was 81 years old. His funeral will be held Thursday at Bethel AME Church at Shelly Bay Lancelot Swan