Henry Millin
Encyclopedia
Henry A. Millin was an U.S. Virgin Islander
banker and politician
. Millin served as the fourth Lieutenant Governor of the United States Virgin Islands
(and third elected Lt. Governor) from 1978 until 1983.
on March 17, 1923, to Allan and Lucinda Sewer Millin. Millin's mother, Lucinda Sewer Millin, was a Senator in the Legislature of the Virgin Islands
. She is the namesake
of the Lucinda Millin Home for the Aged, a nursing home
on Saint Thomas.
Millin married Graciela G. Millin. The couple had five children - Henry, Ines, Janette, Juliette and Leslie.
in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Marine Corps early in his career. He also worked as a clerk
both the Virgin Islands' Office of the Tax Assessor and the former Police and Prison Department.
In 1950, Millin was appointed to the board of directors
of the U.S.V.I. Housing Authority. He later become the executive director
of the housing authority
, holding the position for many years. Millin oversaw the construction of two major housing project complexes, Ludwig E. Harrigan Court on Saint Croix and Oswald Harris Court on Saint Thomas. In the early 1960s, U.S. President John F. Kennedy
sent Millin a letter of commendation for his work as the housing authority's executive director. Kennedy recognized Millin for operating one of the best run housing authorities out of the 1,300 in the United States at the time.
He then worked for the The West Indian Company on Saint Thomas before taking a position in the Virgin Islands National Bank in 1965, where he worked in the bank's mortgage
department. Millin would be promoted to senior vice president of the Virgin Islands National Bank. By 1978, Millin had become the senior vice president of the First Pennsylvania Bank, which had acquired V.I. National Bank.
, Juan Francisco Luis, was sworn into office as the next Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands on the same day. Luis' elevation to the governor's office left the position of lieutenant governor temporarily vacant until Luis could choose his successor.
Governor Luis considered several candidates for Lieutenant Governor of the United States Virgin Islands
, including Millin, Edith Bornn, a lawyer from Saint Thomas, and Julio Brady
. Luis ultimately chose Millin for lieutenant governor, as well as his running mate in the 1978 gubernatorial election. Millin was initially reluctant to accept the appointment, but reportedly changed his mind through the persuasion of members from each of the U.S.V.I.'s major political parties and islands. Governor Luis announced Millin's appointment as Lt. Governor on February 21, 1978, in a broadcast on radio and television. Millin was a member of the Democratic Party of the Virgin Islands
, while Governor Luis was a member of the Independent Citizens Movement
(ICM) at the time. However, Luis, who was planning to run in the 1978 gubernatorial election, dropped his political affiliation with the ICM to run as an independent, nonpartisan candidate for governor. Millin's Democratic affiliation was seen as a complement for Luis' candidacy and the nonpartisan
coalition he hoped to build. Millin was sworn into office on March 10, 1978, at Government House on Saint Thomas
.
Governor Juan Luis and Lt. Governor Henry Millin were elected to a full, four-year term November 7, 1978. They defeating Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ron de Lugo
by a wide margin in a tough election campaign. Luis and Millin won 10,978 votes, or 59.2%, while the Democratic ticket of Ron de Lugo and Eric Dawson placed second with 7,568 votes, or 40.8% of the total votes cast. Luis and Millin also won all three of the main islands, including a landslide victory on Saint Croix. James O'Bryan, Jr., a family friend of Millin's who had just graduated from college, served as the Luis-Millin campaign manager
and later as Millin's public relations
assistant during his term as Lt. Governor.
In 1982, Lt. Governor Millin announced his intention to challenge Governor Luis in the gubernatorial election. Luis named Julio Brady
as his running mate, though Millin remained lieutenant governor until January 1983. The 1982 gubernatorial race consisted of five candidates for Governor, including Millin and Luis, who was seeking re-election. Luis won the election with 11,354 votes, while Millin placed second with 4,143 votes. A group of fourteen U.S. Virgin Islands residents filed a lawsuit challenging the results due to the counting of blank ballots, which would have resulted in a runoff election between Luis and Millin, as Luis would have had less than 50% of vote if the blank or incomplete ballots were thrown out. However, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
in Philadelphia rejected the lawsuit, eliminating any potential runoff election between Luis and Millon. Millin left office in early January 1983 and was succeeded by Julio Brady.
firm after leaving office in 1983. He ran the business until his retirement in the mid-1990s.
Millin served as the president of the St. Thomas and Saint John
Chamber of Commerce
for two consecutive terms. He was also a member of the Rotary Club on Saint Thomas. In 2001, the 24th Legislature of the Virgin Islands
honored Millin for his contributions to the Virgin Islands Housing Authority.
Henry Millin suffered from declining health during his later years. He died on February 4, 2004, at the age of 80.
United States Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands of the United States are a group of islands in the Caribbean that are an insular area of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.The U.S...
banker and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. Millin served as the fourth Lieutenant Governor of the United States Virgin Islands
Lieutenant Governor of the United States Virgin Islands
The following is a list of Lieutenant Governors of the United States Virgin Islands.*David Earle Maas - Republican...
(and third elected Lt. Governor) from 1978 until 1983.
Early life
Millin was born on the island of Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin IslandsSaint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint Thomas is an island in the Caribbean Sea and with the islands of Saint John, Saint Croix, and Water Island a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. Located on the island is the territorial capital and port of...
on March 17, 1923, to Allan and Lucinda Sewer Millin. Millin's mother, Lucinda Sewer Millin, was a Senator in the Legislature of the Virgin Islands
Legislature of the Virgin Islands
The Legislature of the Virgin Islands is the territorial legislature of the United States Virgin Islands. The legislative branch of the unincorporated U.S. territory is unicameral, with a single house consisting of 15 senators, elected to two-year terms without term limits. The territorial...
. She is the namesake
Namesake
Namesake is a term used to characterize a person, place, thing, quality, action, state, or idea that has the same, or a similar, name to another....
of the Lucinda Millin Home for the Aged, a nursing home
Nursing home
A nursing home, convalescent home, skilled nursing unit , care home, rest home, or old people's home provides a type of care of residents: it is a place of residence for people who require constant nursing care and have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living...
on Saint Thomas.
Millin married Graciela G. Millin. The couple had five children - Henry, Ines, Janette, Juliette and Leslie.
Career
Millin was employed as an accountantAccountant
An accountant is a practitioner of accountancy or accounting , which is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and others make decisions about allocating resources.The Big Four auditors are the largest...
in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Marine Corps early in his career. He also worked as a clerk
Clerk
Clerk, the vocational title, commonly refers to a white-collar worker who conducts general office or, in some instances, sales tasks. It is also occasionally used to refer to third-year medical students completing a medical clerkship. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record...
both the Virgin Islands' Office of the Tax Assessor and the former Police and Prison Department.
In 1950, Millin was appointed to the board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of the U.S.V.I. Housing Authority. He later become the executive director
Executive director
Executive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...
of the housing authority
Housing authority
A housing authority or ministry of housing is generally a governmental body that governs some aspect of the territory's housing, often providing low rent or free apartments to qualified residents.-Specific housing authorities:...
, holding the position for many years. Millin oversaw the construction of two major housing project complexes, Ludwig E. Harrigan Court on Saint Croix and Oswald Harris Court on Saint Thomas. In the early 1960s, U.S. President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
sent Millin a letter of commendation for his work as the housing authority's executive director. Kennedy recognized Millin for operating one of the best run housing authorities out of the 1,300 in the United States at the time.
He then worked for the The West Indian Company on Saint Thomas before taking a position in the Virgin Islands National Bank in 1965, where he worked in the bank's mortgage
Mortgage
A mortgage is a security interest in real property held by a lender as a security for a debt, usually a loan of money. A mortgage in itself is not a debt, it is the lender's security for a debt...
department. Millin would be promoted to senior vice president of the Virgin Islands National Bank. By 1978, Millin had become the senior vice president of the First Pennsylvania Bank, which had acquired V.I. National Bank.
Lieutenant Governor
Governor Cyril King died in office on January 2, 1978. King's lieutenant governorLieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...
, Juan Francisco Luis, was sworn into office as the next Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands on the same day. Luis' elevation to the governor's office left the position of lieutenant governor temporarily vacant until Luis could choose his successor.
Governor Luis considered several candidates for Lieutenant Governor of the United States Virgin Islands
Lieutenant Governor of the United States Virgin Islands
The following is a list of Lieutenant Governors of the United States Virgin Islands.*David Earle Maas - Republican...
, including Millin, Edith Bornn, a lawyer from Saint Thomas, and Julio Brady
Julio Brady
Julio A. Brady is a U.S. Virgin Islander judge, politician and attorney. Brady served as the Lieutenant Governor of the United States Virgin Islands from 1983 to 1987 during the second term of former Governor Juan Francisco Luis. Brady has served as a U.S...
. Luis ultimately chose Millin for lieutenant governor, as well as his running mate in the 1978 gubernatorial election. Millin was initially reluctant to accept the appointment, but reportedly changed his mind through the persuasion of members from each of the U.S.V.I.'s major political parties and islands. Governor Luis announced Millin's appointment as Lt. Governor on February 21, 1978, in a broadcast on radio and television. Millin was a member of the Democratic Party of the Virgin Islands
Democratic Party of the Virgin Islands
The Democratic Party is a political party in the U.S. Virgin Islands. It won the gubernatorial elections of 2006 when its candidate John de Jongh was elected with 57.3 %.At the last elections, 7 November 2006, the party won 8 out of 15 seats....
, while Governor Luis was a member of the Independent Citizens Movement
Independent Citizens Movement
The Independent Citizens Movement is a conservative political party in the U.S. Virgin Islands that was founded by Virdin C. Brown and Steve O'Reilly in 1968. Its symbol is the torch.- Early history:...
(ICM) at the time. However, Luis, who was planning to run in the 1978 gubernatorial election, dropped his political affiliation with the ICM to run as an independent, nonpartisan candidate for governor. Millin's Democratic affiliation was seen as a complement for Luis' candidacy and the nonpartisan
Nonpartisan
In political science, nonpartisan denotes an election, event, organization or person in which there is no formally declared association with a political party affiliation....
coalition he hoped to build. Millin was sworn into office on March 10, 1978, at Government House on Saint Thomas
Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint Thomas is an island in the Caribbean Sea and with the islands of Saint John, Saint Croix, and Water Island a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. Located on the island is the territorial capital and port of...
.
Governor Juan Luis and Lt. Governor Henry Millin were elected to a full, four-year term November 7, 1978. They defeating Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ron de Lugo
Ron de Lugo
Ron de Lugo was the first Delegate from the United States Virgin Islands to the United States House of Representatives. His fathers parents were Puerto Ricans his grandfather owned a hardware store and gun dealership in Charlotte Amale, St. Thomas. His parents though living in New Jersey at the...
by a wide margin in a tough election campaign. Luis and Millin won 10,978 votes, or 59.2%, while the Democratic ticket of Ron de Lugo and Eric Dawson placed second with 7,568 votes, or 40.8% of the total votes cast. Luis and Millin also won all three of the main islands, including a landslide victory on Saint Croix. James O'Bryan, Jr., a family friend of Millin's who had just graduated from college, served as the Luis-Millin campaign manager
Campaign manager
A campaign manager is a paid or volunteer individual, whose role is to coordinate the campaign's operations such as fundraising, advertising, polling, getting out the vote , and other activities supporting the effort, directly.Apart from the candidate, they are often a campaign's most visible leader...
and later as Millin's public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
assistant during his term as Lt. Governor.
In 1982, Lt. Governor Millin announced his intention to challenge Governor Luis in the gubernatorial election. Luis named Julio Brady
Julio Brady
Julio A. Brady is a U.S. Virgin Islander judge, politician and attorney. Brady served as the Lieutenant Governor of the United States Virgin Islands from 1983 to 1987 during the second term of former Governor Juan Francisco Luis. Brady has served as a U.S...
as his running mate, though Millin remained lieutenant governor until January 1983. The 1982 gubernatorial race consisted of five candidates for Governor, including Millin and Luis, who was seeking re-election. Luis won the election with 11,354 votes, while Millin placed second with 4,143 votes. A group of fourteen U.S. Virgin Islands residents filed a lawsuit challenging the results due to the counting of blank ballots, which would have resulted in a runoff election between Luis and Millin, as Luis would have had less than 50% of vote if the blank or incomplete ballots were thrown out. However, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts:* District of Delaware* District of New Jersey...
in Philadelphia rejected the lawsuit, eliminating any potential runoff election between Luis and Millon. Millin left office in early January 1983 and was succeeded by Julio Brady.
Later life
Millin opened and operated a real estate appraisalReal estate appraisal
Real estate appraisal, property valuation or land valuation is the process of valuing real property. The value usually sought is the property's Market Value. Appraisals are needed because compared to, say, corporate stock, real estate transactions occur very infrequently...
firm after leaving office in 1983. He ran the business until his retirement in the mid-1990s.
Millin served as the president of the St. Thomas and Saint John
Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint John is an island in the Caribbean Sea and a constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. St...
Chamber of Commerce
Chamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...
for two consecutive terms. He was also a member of the Rotary Club on Saint Thomas. In 2001, the 24th Legislature of the Virgin Islands
Legislature of the Virgin Islands
The Legislature of the Virgin Islands is the territorial legislature of the United States Virgin Islands. The legislative branch of the unincorporated U.S. territory is unicameral, with a single house consisting of 15 senators, elected to two-year terms without term limits. The territorial...
honored Millin for his contributions to the Virgin Islands Housing Authority.
Henry Millin suffered from declining health during his later years. He died on February 4, 2004, at the age of 80.