James Carlisle was born in 1937 in Antigua and was brought up in a very poor household in which his illiterate mother struggled to raise seven children- his father having been killed towards the end of the Second World War while serving with the British Forces. He had his early education in Antigua where the colonial education system at the time only provided for elementary education. But he was able to obtain several GCE, O- Level subjects by taking correspondence courses. In 1960, he relocated to the UK and in 1961 joined the Royal Air Force where he was trained as a medic/ decompression operator. It was his occasional work with a Dental Officer that stimulated his interest in dentistry which ultimately led to an obsession to be a dentist.



In life, opportunities often arise from the unlikeliest of encounters.

The then Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Vere Bird, had become a patient of James some years earlier.  In 1993 he asked him to accept a nomination to become Her Majesty’s Representative, that is, Governor-General.  Sir James says he was astonished, but he nevertheless accepted, and the recommendation was endorsed by Her Majesty.  He sold his practice using an advertisement in the British Dental Journal, but as he did not know exactly what the new position entailed, he contracted to continue working at the practice as a dentist for half a day a week.  Of course, we do not really expect Her Majesty to have another job other than Queen so as Her Representative in Antigua, he could not have one either and he gave this up, after a short while.

So, in June 1993 he was sworn in as the second Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda, the first native- born Antiguan to be appointed to the office.  Later that year he was appointed to be a Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George ( GCMG ).  On July 20 1994 he received the accolade ( dubbing ) at Buckingham Palace.  In 1996, he was awarded an honorary Fellowship ( FDS RCS ) by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edingburgh.  Later he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD ) by Andrews University, Michigan, USA for his work with the Seventh- day Adventist Church.  In 2018 the International College of Dentists awarded him an honorary Fellowship (FICD) for outstanding professional achievement and meritorious service.