National Liberal Party when he returns to Bermuda from Canada in 1995, The Royal Gazette has learned.

With long-time leader Mr. Gilbert Darrell planning to step down, party hopes are riding high on Mr. Jeffers' return.

Mr. Jeffers, who twice ran for the House of Assembly in the 1980s, is well-known for introducing the Canadian Scholarship Trust Plan to Bermuda in 1969.

He served as the programme's enrolment director until 1987, when he accepted a top post at the Heritage/Scholarship Advisors International head office in Toronto.

Though still relatively young, Mr. Jeffers is now eligible to retire and is expected to return to the Island this summer. "He's been itching to come back,'' and "he's a real sparkplug,'' an NLP source said.

In 1983, Mr. Jeffers ran for the Progressive Labour Party in Pembroke West Central and placed third, garnering 515 votes.

Running for the NLP in Pembroke East Central in 1985, Mr. Jeffers received nearly 200 votes but finished last in a five-candidate race.

Mr. Darrell, 72, has led the NLP since it was born from a split in the Progressive Labour Party in 1984. This week, he announced that he was ready to step down, possibly as early as the annual general meeting likely to be held in February.

"We've got somebody in mind who will step forward,'' Mr. Darrell said yesterday, while refusing to divulge any names. "There are a couple of people who might agree to take the leadership.'' Party stalwart Mr. Graeme Outerbridge is believed to be the other possible contender for the NLP leadership.

Mr. Darrell said he felt he should resign because he had not held the lone NLP seat in Hamilton East in the October, 1993 general election. "I was leader of the party, and...I failed simply because I was unable to keep our position,'' he said.

"I don't go along with this idea that leadership is only a one-way street. It goes both ways. If I was leading that party, then I should be held responsible to a large degree for its failures.'' He felt his greatest success as leader was in pursuing "non-partisan'' issues in the House of Assembly.