NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) -- The governor-general of the Bahamas stepped
                 down Tuesday after almost seven years in office, deciding to leave his post to
                 make way for his son's political career.

                 Governor-General Sir Orville Turnquest, appointed early in 1995, was replaced by
                 Ivy Dumont in a ceremony Tuesday morning at Parliament Square in downtown
                 Nassau. About 300 people attended.

                 Dumont, the first woman governor-general, will hold the post until a permanent
                 appointment is made.

                 The governor-general, appointed by the prime minister, has a largely ceremonial
                 role representing the British monarch in the Bahamas, part of the British
                 Commonwealth of former colonies and dependencies. The Bahamas, an
                 island-chain in the Atlantic, gained independence from Britain in 1973.

                 Turnquest's son, Tommy, is minister of tourism and earlier this year was elected to
                 lead the governing Free National Movement. He replaced Prime Minister Hubert
                 Ingraham, who has said he will resign from the party's leadership during the next
                 general elections, which must be held by April 2002.

                 If the Free National Movement wins the elections and Tommy Turnquest wins his
                 district, he would be the nation's next prime minister.

                 Orville Turnquest announced earlier this year that he would leave office to avoid the
                 possibility that he and his son would hold the government's two top posts.

                  Copyright 2001 The Associated Press.