Former President of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Dr William Warren Smith, has died.

In a statement, the bank said Smith passed away on January 30, 2026.

Smith, a Jamaican national, served as the fifth president of the Barbados based regional development bank from May 1, 2011 to April 30, 2021. 

His tenure spanned a decade marked by economic shocks, natural disasters and heightened focus on climate resilience across the Caribbean.

The bank credited Smith with strengthening CDB’s role as a key development partner to its borrowing member countries.

“Under Dr Smith’s stewardship, CDB strengthened its role as a trusted partner for the region, mobilising resources to support sustainable growth, resilience building and social and economic transformations across its member countries,” the bank said. 

“His leadership placed renewed emphasis on climate resilience, disaster risk management and innovative development financing, working with partners to design instruments that helped Caribbean states respond to and recover from natural hazards and external shocks.”

Current CDB President Daniel Best paid tribute to Smith, describing him as a mentor and a guiding influence throughout his career.

“Dr Smith was a mentor and a guide to me at many critical junctures during my career,” Best said. “He devoted his life’s work to the proposition that Caribbean people deserve strong, modern institutions that are fully on their side.”

Best noted that Smith assumed office during one of the most challenging periods for the institution and the wider region.

“When he assumed office as President of CDB in 2011, he guided the institution through some of its most challenging moments with steadiness, resolve, and an unwavering belief in what the Bank could and should represent for the region,” he said. 

“He demanded excellence from those around him because he believed deeply in our collective responsibility to serve the Caribbean with integrity, rigour, and purpose.”

Best said Smith’s impact would continue to be felt across the institution and the region.

“His legacy lives on in the institution he helped strengthen, the people he shaped, and the development path he helped chart for our region,” he added.

Extending condolences, Best said, “On behalf of the Board of Governors, the Board of Directors, Management and staff of CDB, I extend our deepest condolences to his wife and family, his friends and former colleagues. The Caribbean has lost a giant of the development movement. However, the work he began is now ours to carry forward as we strengthen the institution he helped shape and advance the Caribbean future he believed in so deeply.”

The CDB said a condolence book will be opened for public signing at its Wildey Headquarters from 10 am on February 2. 

The bank will also work with Smith’s family to share further details on arrangements to celebrate and honour his life and contribution.