Lewis was born in
Castries, St Lucia, where he was educated at the Castries Anglican Infant and Primary Schools and
Saint Mary's College. He then studied law at
London University and the
Middle Temple. He became a member of Castries City Council in 1941, acting as Chairman six times. He was one of the founders and the first president of the
Saint Lucia Labour Party in 1950. Before his appointments to the viceregal post, Sir Allen sat on the legislative council (1943–1951) and was a senator in the
Federal Parliament of the West Indies Federation (1958–1959). Lewis had a distinguished legal career alongside his political accomplishments; he was a judge on the Jamaican Court of Appeal (1962–1967) and the first Chief Justice of the
West Indies Associated States Supreme Court (1967–1972). In 1975 he became Chancellor of the
University of the West Indies. In 1972, he returned to Saint Lucia and spent two years establishing a National Development Corporation to develop the economy of the island, after which he was appointed
Governor of Saint Lucia, the Queen's representative. When St Lucia gained independence in 1979, Lewis served twice in the equivalent role as
Governor-General of Saint Lucia (1979–1980 and 1982–1987). His brother,
W. Arthur Lewis, won the
Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics for his work on developing countries and the "
Lewis turning point". == Honours and awards ==