K. Peter Turnquest

Kevin Peter Turnquest (born August 22, 1964)^[1] is a Bahamian politician who served as deputy prime minister and minister of finance from May 15, 2017^[2] to November 25, 2020.^[3]

The Honourable K. Peter Turnquest
Deputy Prime Minister of the Bahamas
In office 12 May 2017 – 25 November 2020
Prime Minister	Hubert Minnis
Preceded by	Brent Symonette
Succeeded by	Desmond Bannister
Minister of Finance
In office 15 May 2017 – 25 November 2020
Prime Minister	Hubert Minnis
Preceded by	Perry Christie
Succeeded by	Hubert Minnis
Member of Parliament for East Grand Bahama
In office May 7, 2012 – August 19, 2021
Personal details
Born	(1964-08-22) 22 August 1964 (age 61)
Nationality	Bahamian
Spouse	Sonia Turnquest
Children	2

Early life

Turnquest was born on August 22, 1964, in the Bahamas. He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from Prairie View A&M University and his Master of Business Administration from Nova Southeastern University.^[1] He is a certified public accountant,^[4] and prior to entering politics he served in public and private practice in the area of financial accounting and reporting, and also led some businesses.^[1]

In 2009, he was elected the President of the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce. At the time of his election, he was the Chairman of the Board of SkyBahamas. He announced he would primarily focus on education and sustainability and build programs around those areas. The board held its first annual general meeting in November 2010.^[5]

Political career

In the Parliament of the Bahamas he represented the East Grand Bahama constituency. He was the deputy leader of the Free National Movement. From 2017 to 2020 he served simultaneously as Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister of the Bahamas. In 2018, he commented on the financial state of the Bahamas, stating that the previous administration left over $700 million in unpaid bills, a majority of which were not included in official budgets.^[6] He refused to take the Opposition's suggestion of amortizing the debts, stating it would delay payments to small Bahamian vendors. ^[6]

Legal issues

In April 2024, the Supreme Court of the Bahamas found that Turnquest breached his statutory fiduciary duty to Alpha Aviation Limited, but he was cleared of conspiracy to defraud since the company did not suffer measurable financial loss.^[7] The breach was related to the execution of a deed of release on a mortgage without securing payment, and the judge criticized Turnquest's lack of procedures and protections for the company's assets during the time.^[7] Turnquest stated he was solely acting on instructions from Alpha Aviation's beneficial owner, Fredrick Kaiser, and that he had approved the release.^[7]