He first ran for a seat on the House of Assembly representing the
Progressive Liberal Party in 1967, and lost. Butler contested the next year's elections, and won. He was reelected in 1972 and served as
Speaker of the House of Assembly from that year until 1977, when he left the PLP. Butler launched an unsuccessful independent campaign in 1977, and later joined the
Free National Movement. He ran under the FNM banner in 1982 and 1987, but never returned to parliament. Butler was
Minister of Public Safety from 1992 to 1995 under the
Hubert Ingraham government. He was named ambassador to the United States from 1996 to 1997. Outside of politics, Bulter was the longtime president of the
Bahamas Olympic Committee. == Private life==