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Ralph Gonsalves

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The Honourable
Ralph Gonsalves
Ralph Gonsalves in 2016
Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Incumbent
Assumed office
28 March 2001
MonarchElizabeth II
Governors GeneralCharles Antrobus
Monica Dacon (Acting)
Frederick Ballantyne
Susan Dougan
DeputyLouis Straker (2015–2020)
Montgomery Daniel (2020–present)
Preceded byArnhim Eustace
Leader of the Unity Labour Party
Incumbent
Assumed office
6 December 1998
Preceded byVincent Beache
Chairman of the Caribbean Community
Incumbent
Assumed office
3 July 2020[1]
Secretary-GeneralIrwin LaRocque
Preceded byMia Mottley[1]
Personal details
Born (1946-08-08) 8 August 1946 (age 78)
Colonarie, British Windward Islands
(now Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)
Political partyUnity Labour Party
SpouseEloise Harris
Alma materUniversity of the West Indies
University of Manchester
Inns of Court School of Law

Ralph Everard Gonsalves (born 8 August 1946) is a Vincentian politician. He is currently the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and leader of the Unity Labour Party (ULP).[2]

Gonsalves is the longest continuously serving head of government since St. Vincent and the Grenadines became independent in 1979. He became Prime Minister after his party won a majority government in the 2001 general election. He was the first Prime Minister from the newly constructed ULP, following a merger of the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Labour Party and the Movement for National Unity.[3]

Gonsalves has been Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of North Central Windward since 1994. In 1994, upon the formation of the Unity Labour Party he became deputy leader, and became leader of the party in 1998.[3]

With Gonsalves as leader, the ULP won a majority in the popular vote in every general election from 1998 through 2015, though it failed to secure the majority of parliamentary seats in the 1998 election. In 2020, the ULP won the election, but did not win the popular vote.[4] On 7 November 2020, Gonsalves was sworn in for his fifth term as Prime Minister.[5]

Early life and education

Gonsalves, known affectionately as "Comrade Ralph", was born in Colonarie, Saint Vincent, British Windward Islands to his father, Alban Gonsalves (a farmer and small businessman, now deceased) and his mother, Theresa Francis (a small business woman). His ancestors came to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in 1845 as indentured servants from the Portuguese island of Madeira.[2]

He attended Colonarie Roman Catholic School, and later the St Vincent Grammar School. Gonsalves then enrolled at the University of the West Indies, where he completed a bachelor's degree in economics. He later returned there to earn a master's degree in government, which he completed in 1971. In 1974 he completed a Doctorate in government at the University of Manchester. Gonsalves was called to the bar at Gray's Inn in London in 1981.[6] He also attended Makerere University in Uganda according to his address at the United Nations during the Africa Day event on 25 May 2019.

Political career

Gonsalves in 2013

Gonsalves became involved in politics at university, as president of the University of West Indies' Guild of Undergraduates and Debating Society. In 1968, he led a student protest of the deportation of historian and intellectual Walter Rodney by the Jamaican government.[7]

In 1994, Gonsalves became the deputy leader of the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Labour Party. After the resignation of Vincent Beache, Gonsalves became leader of the party in 1998.[3] Gonsalves later led the Unity Labour Party to win the 2001 general election, becoming Prime Minister. His ULP was re-elected in the 2005 general election. In the 2010 general election, Gonsalves and the ULP were narrowly re-elected with 51.11% of the popular vote.[8]

Gonsalves at a CARICOM meeting in 2016 with President of Chile Michelle Bachelet and Chilean Foreign Minister Heraldo Muñoz

In 2009 Gonsalves and the ULP led a referendum campaign[9] in favour of constitutional reform that would have abolished the country's constitutional monarchy, replacing Elizabeth II[10] with a non-executive president. The referendum was defeated, with 55.64% of voters rejecting the changes.[11]

On 3 July 2020, Gonsalves was elected Chairman of the Caribbean Community succeeding Mia Amor Mottley.[7]

Outside politics

Gonsalves practices law before the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.[2] He has written and published on a range of matters including the Caribbean, Africa, trade unionism, comparative political economy, and developmental issues generally.

Personal life

Gonsalves has been married twice; currently he is married to Eloise Harris. He has two sons by his first marriage, Camillo and Adam; one son by his second wife, Storm; and two daughters, Isis and Soleil.

Publications

Books

  • Diary of a Prime Minister: Ten days among Benedictine Monks
  • The Making of 'the Comrade': The Political Journey of Ralph Gonsalves
  • The spectre of imperialism: the case of the Caribbean (University of the West Indies; 128 pages, 1976)
  • The non-capitalist path of development: Africa and the Caribbean (One Caribbean Publishers; 1981)
  • History and the future: a Caribbean perspective (169 pages, 1994)
  • Notes on some basic ideas in Marxism-Leninism (University of the West Indies; 56 pages)

Theses

  • The role of labour in the political process of St. Vincent (1935–1970) (Master's Thesis, 1971)[12]
  • The politics of trade unions and industrial relations in Uganda (1950–1971) (Doctoral Thesis, 1974)[13]

Pamphlets

  • The Rodney affair and its aftermath (University of the West Indies; 21 pages, 1975)
  • The development and class character of the bourgeois state: the case of St. Vincent (University of the West Indies; 15 pages, 1976)
  • Controls and influences on the civil service and statutory bodies in the Commonwealth Caribbean: a preliminary discussion (University of the West Indies; 67 pages, 1977)
  • The development of the labour movement in St. Vincent (37 pages, 1977)
  • Who killed sugar in St. Vincent? (United Liberation Movement; 21 pages, 1977)
  • On the political economy of Barbados (One Caribbean Publishers; 49 pages, 1981)
  • The trade union movement in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (Movement for National Unity; 64 pages, 1983)
  • Ebenezer Joshua: his ideology and style (Movement for National Unity; 39 pages, 1984)
  • (editor) The trial of George McIntosh (Caribbean Diaspora Press; 80 pages, 1985)
  • Authority in the police force: its uses and abuses (Movement for National Unity; 45 pages, 1986)
  • Banana in trouble: its present and future (Movement for National Unity; 22 pages, 1989)

References

  1. ^ a b "CARICOM Heads of Government Meet on Friday – Handover of Chairmanship to feature". 2 July 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Profile Archived 6 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine, caribbeanelections.com; accessed 1 September 2014.
  3. ^ a b c Profile Archived 28 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine, caribbeanelections.com; accessed 1 September 2014.
  4. ^ "ULP wins 5 in a row". iWitness News. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  5. ^ "GG urges PM to continue inclusive governance". iWitness News. 7 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  6. ^ Profiles of People in Power: The World's Government Leaders. London & New York City: Routledge. 2003. p. 445. ISBN 9781317639404.
  7. ^ a b "Ralph Gonsalves: St. Vincent and Grenadines Prime Minister is New Chairman of CARICOM". Caribbean National Weekly. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  8. ^ Profile, caribbean360.com; accessed 1 September 2014.
  9. ^ Profile, caribbean360.com; accessed 1 September 2014.
  10. ^ Profile, pdba.georgetown.edu; accessed 1 September 2014.
  11. ^ Profile Archived 11 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine, antillean.org, 26 November 2009; accessed 1 September 2014.
  12. ^ Gonsalves, Ralph E. (1971). The role of labour in the political process of St. Vincent (1935–1970) (MSc). Mona, Jamaica: University of the West Indies. OCLC 55894598.
  13. ^ Gonsalves, Ralph E. (1974). The politics of trade unions and industrial relations in Uganda (1950–1971) (DPhil). Manchester, UK: University of Manchester. OCLC 973805455.
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Political offices
Preceded by Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
2001–present 		Incumbent
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