New senator Ryan Robinson Perinchief told the Upper House how he had grown up hearing early-morning political debates around his family table to the smell of traditional codfish and potato breakfasts.

The 29-year-old Minister of National Security took to his feet yesterday to address his new colleagues, using his maiden speech to dismiss his comparative youth and reflect on how his heroes, Malcolm X and the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr, both had service thrust upon them at a similar age.

He said: “I am humbled by the task before me, grateful for the trust bestowed and mindful of the sacrifices borne by those who came before me.”

He told the Senate that while he had a “deep understanding that this is an immense role and responsibility”, he was there by choice.

“I chose public service and decided to come home immediately after my master’s studies at Oxford to be immersed in community.

“Therefore, to many, my decision to answer the call of public service is no surprise.

“A few years ago, I stood in the Supreme Court as a newly qualified barrister and attorney, and looked around at the state of Bermuda society. It was evident to me that our community needed more people, and people to represent their needs.

“In that moment I asked myself where I am best placed to assist in this charge; whether in a court of law, wearing a wig … or representing elsewhere.

“I had a strong view that we needed strong leaders.”

Mr Robinson Perinchief said he had been raised by “dedicated public servants who lived out its pressures and its disappointments and its potential in front of me”.

He added: “I woke up on Sunday mornings to the smell of codfish and potatoes and the sound of politics in action — shouting, debating and, most importantly, civic issues. And my family would passionately debate the latest issues on the early days of the Progressive Labour Party’s rise to power when an entire country was riding the wave of hope for a new Bermuda.

“A moment in time we still remember.

“I chose to study law to gain an understanding of how societies work. I wanted to know how rules shaped our world.”

Mr Robinson Perinchief said: “I am 29 years old and will soon enter my 31st year.

“I know that I stand on the shoulders of many giants … where servant leaders demonstrate that age is not a measure of ability to lead.

“I reflect on some of my childhood heroes — Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.

“At aged 29, Malcolm X was a man who only a few years earlier was serving a prison sentence but became one of the most compelling voices of the nation.

“Martin Luther King Jr was already a prominent civic rights leader at 29. He had published his first book, negotiated with President Eisenhower and laid the groundwork for his famous I Have a Dream speech.

“They would only live another ten years and both were assassinated.”

He said the community should be grateful than neither man had “waited a little longer”.