Walter Roban, the former Deputy Premier and Minister of Home Affairs, will be at the centre of an appreciation luncheon on Sunday.

The Progressive Labour Party will honour its veteran statesman, who retired at the General Election in February after more than four decades of service.

Its luncheon will be an opportunity for residents of his former constituency, Pembroke East, as well as friends and the wider public to pay tribute to his work.

Mr Roban joined the PLP in the late 1980s as a party officer and helped to shape its policies, strategies and goals.

He assisted the PLP to its historic landside victory in 1998 and since then worked in by-election and General Election campaigns.

He was appointed to the Senate in 2003 under the former PLP premier Alex Scott.

Mr Roban won his first seat in the House of Assembly during the General Election of 2007, when he succeeded union stalwart Ottiwell Simmons as MP of Pembroke East Central.

Mr Roban went on to serve in several cabinets and shadow cabinets, and took on the role of deputy premier in 2017.

He announced his retirement in July 2024, stating: “It [politics] was never meant to be a lifelong job, and I am now at the point where I am ready to make a shift.”

General admission tickets to the celebration event will cost $65 while tickets for patrons are priced at $100.

Proceeds will go towards supporting community projects in Pembroke East.

The luncheon will take place on Sunday from 3pm to 5pm at the CedarBridge Academy cafeteria in Devonshire.