[3] Smith defeated Bobby Usher, the nephew of former Prime Minister George Cadle Price, to receive the PUP's nomination as its candidate for Pickstock constituency in the 2003 election.
[5] In April 2006 he gave up the foreign and defense ministries and became minister of tourism, information and emergency management.
Smith also has a Legal Education Certificate from Norman Manley Law School.
He later received a master of arts in international relations from Tufts University's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Massachusetts in 2002.
[3] He is married to Valerie Woods, who has been Speaker of the country's House of Representatives since December 2020.