House of Assembly.

Government has a slim majority, race has become a dominant issue in Bermudian politics, and a raucous session is expected.

If the House opens up and accepts Dr. Dyer's move from Government Whip to Speaker's chair, the dentist is hoping the change will not hurt a bit.

One of the more partisan United Bermuda Party caucus members when attacking the Opposition, Dr. Dyer said he did not think the transition should be overly difficult.

"I don't think you'll find anyone in the House, on either side, that hasn't been partisan,'' he said. "Such is the nature of the Westminister system.'' Citing the fishpot ban as one issue on which he spoke out, Dr. Dyer said that along with attacks on the Progressive Labour Party, "there have been things that I have in the past criticised some Ministers for.'' At 48, Dr. Dyer would be one of the youngest Speakers of the House, and also one of the fittest. He enjoys early-morning cycles, swimming, and the occasional run, but regrets politics has left him little time for golf or scuba diving. He is also a letter writer for Amnesty International who enjoys travelling.

"I'm relatively ambitious, hard-working, and I go by the words of my father: `Take each day as it comes,''' he said.

After 18 years in England, Dr. Dyer got involved in politics when he returned to Bermuda in 1980.

At that time, then Premier the Hon. Sir David Gibbons and Mr. Bill McPhee were the MPs in Pembroke West, where Dr. Dyer was raised. He canvassed for them and did other work for the United Bermuda Party in the 1983 general election.

When Sir David stepped down in 1984, Dr. Dyer lost his first primary bid to Dr. Clarence Terceira, now Minister of Education. In 1985, Mr. McPhee died.

Dr. Dyer, who by then was the UBP's branch chairman in Pembroke West, defeated the Hon. Gerald Simons, now Environment Minister, in a primary to succeed him.

Dr. Dyer was elected to the House of Assembly in a July 11, 1985 by-election, the first election in which the National Liberal Party fielded a candidate. He was returned again in the general election that October, and in the two votes since.

Dr. Dyer said the biracial approach of the UBP best suited his own political views. "Isolation and racial separation really doesn't do any long-term good for the country or the people,'' he said.

"I think that often in a lot of countries, people will pick on someone of a different colour, even if they are one of that country's nationals. They automatically will make the assumption that they're not born there, and have no linkage to that country.

"In this sort of global village that we live in now, we can't continue with this sort of isolationist philosophy. We are all interdependent on one another.'' Dr. Dyer said this particularly applied to Bermuda, because of its small size.

"I think the only way forward is to have a representation across the spectrum of black and white, rich and poor.'' He remembered his childhood in a segregated Bermuda school system, attending West Pembroke Primary School, the Technical Institute, and the now defunct Howard Academy.

That school was always in financial trouble and received "merely the crumbs from the table'' in terms of Government help, he said. But it had committed teachers and gave Dr. Dyer a sound basis to continue his education.

The dentist is now on the education committee of the Howard Alumni Society, involved in providing scholarships for needy students.

In England, he attended college in Bristol, then the University of Cardiff and the Welsh National School of Medicine.

After qualifying as a dentist, Dr. Dyer worked in a number of regional hospitals before setting up a private practice with friends in Sheffield in 1977.

Dr. Dyer returned to Bermuda for a holiday in 1980 and was persuaded to leave Britain and set up a practice in Hamilton. His wife Janet, who he met in Bristol, now works as his office manager. The couple has one daughter. Marcia, 27, is attending the University of Liverpool.

The Speaker's chair often caps a political career, but Dr. Dyer said it was too early to say what the future holds for him. "One never knows,'' he said.

"In 1985, I had no idea that by 1993 I would be running for Speaker.'' DR. DAVID DYER -- Will be be nominated as the first black Speaker of the House of Assembly.

POLITICS PTL