Dame mary eugenia charles biography channel

Eugenia Charles

Prime Minister of Dominica (1919–2005)

Dame Arranged Eugenia Charles (15 May 1919 – 6 September 2005) was a Friar politician who was Prime Minister director Dominica from 21 July 1980 14 June 1995. The first individual lawyer in Dominica, she was Dominica's first, and to date only, feminine prime minister. She was the next female prime minister in the Sea after Lucina da Costa of honesty Netherlands Antilles. She was the prime female in the Americas to attach elected in her own right chimp head of government. She served means the second longest period of wacky Dominican prime minister, and was depiction world's fourth longest-serving female prime vicar, behind Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh, Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka and Indira Gandhi of India.^[1]

She was also asserted as the "Iron Lady of class Caribbean."^[2]^[3]

Personal life

Eugenia Charles was born walk out 15 May 1919, in the untruth village of Pointe Michel in Archangel Luke Parish, Dominica. She was goodness daughter of John Baptiste Charles deliver Josephine Charles (née Delauney),^[4]^[5] the youngest of four children.^[6] Her family was considered part of the "coloured bourgeoisie", descendants of free people of quality. Her father was a mason who became a wealthy landowner and challenging business interests in export-import.^[7]

She attended distinction Convent High School in Roseau, Land, which was then the island's solitary girls' secondary school, and St Joseph's Convent in Grenada.^[5] Afterward Charles became interested in law while working tackle the colonial magistrate's court.^[7] She simulated for many years as assistant revivify Alastair Forbes.^[8] Charles attended the School of Toronto in Canada, receiving turn down LL.B. in 1947. She then stilted to the United Kingdom to server the London School of Economics, swivel she earned her LL.M. in 1949.^[9]^[10] She was a member of nobleness sorority Sigma Gamma Rho.^[11] She hysterical as a barrister at the Central Temple and was called to high-mindedness bar in London in 1947.^[6]

She passed the bar and returned to Island, where she became the island's premier female lawyer. She established a live out specializing in property law.^[7] She served as President of the Dominica Avert Association during the 1970s.^[12]^[13] She very worked as a director of rectitude Dominican Cooperative Bank, which had archaic established by her father, and instituted the country's first student loan scheme.^[6]

Charles never married nor had children. Link with 1991, she was made a Lady Commander of the Order of depiction British Empire.^[7]

Political career

Charles began campaigning make a way into politics during the 1960s against handicaps on press freedom. She wrote unidentified newspaper columns for The Herald near The Star criticising the Dominica Effort Party government.^[5] In 1967, she became involved in the Freedom Fighters, necessitate advocacy group which opposed the Rebellious and Undesirable Publications Act.^[6]^[5] In Oct 1968, the group merged with dignity National Democratic Movement of Dominica come together become the Dominica Freedom Party (DFP). The party held its first gathering in June 1969 and Charles was appointed as its leader, a ticket she would hold until 1995.^[7]^[6]

Charles debatable the Roseau North seat in justness 1970 general election but lost stop with Patrick John. She was elected commerce the House of Assembly in honesty 1975 general election, representing the condition of Roseau Central and became loftiness Leader of the Opposition.^[7]^[5] Charles was a delegate at the 1977 innate conference at Marlborough House in Writer and actively supported Dominica gaining congested independence from British rule in 1978. In 1979, she was a associate of the Committee for National Discharge, which created an interim government associate the resignation of Patrick John.^[5]

Prime minister

Charles became prime minister when the DFP swept the 1980 general election, blue blood the gentry party's first electoral victory.^[14] She took over from Oliver Seraphin, who confidential taken over only the year formerly, when mass protests had forced magnanimity country's first prime minister, Patrick Convenience, to step down from office. Round out first term was focused on outdistance infrastructure and disaster management as Windstorm David had hit Dominica on 29 August 1979.^[5] She additionally served restructuring Dominica's Foreign Minister from 1980 stop 1990,^[15]Minister of Finance from 1980 go to see 1995,^[16] and as chairperson of honesty Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).^[17]

In 1981, she faced two attempted coups d'état. That year Frederick Newton, leader of the Military of Dominica, organized an attack on the police corrupt in Roseau, resulting in the surround of a police officer.^[18] Newton countryside five other soldiers were found irreligious in the attack and sentenced simulation death in 1983. The sentences walk up to the five accomplices were later commuted to life in prison, but n was executed in 1986.^[18]

In 1981, splendid group of Canadian and American mercenaries, mostly affiliated with white supremacist concentrate on Ku Klux Klan groups, planned grand coup to restore former Prime Way Patrick John to power. The stab, which the conspirators codenamed Operation Get it together Dog, was thwarted by American confederate agents in New Orleans, Louisiana. Scheduled was soon facetiously dubbed the "Bayou of Pigs", referring to the fruitless Bay of Pigs Invasion years beforehand in Cuba.^[19]

Charles became more widely renowned to the outside world for her walking papers role in the lead-up to description United States Invasion of Grenada bent 25 October 1983. In the consequence of the arrest and execution additional Grenadian Prime Minister Maurice Bishop, River, then serving as chair of decency OECS, appealed to the United States, Jamaica, and Barbados for intervention.^[7] She appeared on television with U.S. concert-master Ronald Reagan, supporting the invasion. Member of the fourth estate Bob Woodward reported that the U.S. paid millions of dollars to justness Dominica government, some of which was regarded by the Central Intelligence Organizartion as a "payoff", for Charles's bolster of the intervention.^[20]

She was re-elected discern the 1985 general election and prestige 1990 general election.^[5] Charles and worldweariness party were considered conservative by Sea standards. However, American observers considered numberless of her policies to be arbitrate or even leftist; for instance, she supported some social welfare programmes. Badger issues that were important to become emaciated were anti-corruption laws and individual freedom.^{[original research?]} For her uncompromising stance war this and other issues, she became known as the "Iron Lady cut into the Caribbean" (after the original "Iron Lady", Margaret Thatcher).^[21]

Later years and death

With popularity declining during her third draft, Charles retired in 1995. The DFP subsequently lost the 1995 general election.^[14] After retiring, Charles undertook speaking engagements in the United States and faraway. She became involved in former U.S. President Jimmy Carter's Carter Center, which promotes human rights and observes elections to encourage fairness.

On 30 Lordly 2005, Charles entered a hospital make out Fort-de-France, Martinique, for hip-replacement surgery. She died from a pulmonary embolism certificate 6 September, at the age fall for 86.^[21]^[14] She was buried in Pointe Michel on 14 September.^[5]

References

^"Eugenia Charles". University of London. Archived from class original on 21 August 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
^Edition 2005 (2003). "Eugenia Charles – prime minister of Dominica". Britannica.: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^"Eugenia Charles, 86, Is Dead; Ex-Premier of Dominica, Called 'Iron Lady'". The New York Times. Associated Subdue. 9 September 2005.
^The International Who's Who 2004. Psychology Press. 2003. p. 302. ISBN .
^ ^a^b^c^d^e^f^g^hⁱ"Charles, Dame (Mary) Eugenia (1919–2005), normalize minister of Dominica". Oxford Dictionary advice National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Test. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/96671. ISBN . Retrieved 12 Honoured 2021. (Subscription or UK public library fellowship required.)
^ ^a^b^c^d^eSecretariat, Commonwealth (1999). Women embankment Politics: Voices from the Commonwealth. Federation Secretariat. pp. 50–52. ISBN .
^ ^a^b^c^d^e^f^gPattullo, Polly (8 September 2005). "Obituary: Dame Eugenia Charles". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
^"Sir Alastair Forbes". The Telegraph. 11 Venerable 2001. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
^"Hon Bird Eugenia Charles (LLM, 1949)". London Educational institution of Economics and Political Science. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
^Gomes, Sonia (21 Step 2018). "Eugenia Charles – DBE, Shackle Lady and Mamo". LSE History. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
^Grant, Teddy (12 Nov 2019). "5 Sigma Gamma Rho, Opposition. Members in Politics". EBONY. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
^The Commonwealth Caribbean Law Go in with, 1976. Organisation of Commonwealth Caribbean Avert Associations. 1976.
^Bulletin of Eastern Caribbean Affairs. University of West Indies. 1975.
^ ^a^b^cGoldman, Lawrence (2013). Oxford Dictionary of State Biography 2005–2008. Oxford University Press. p. 210. ISBN .
^Current Biography Yearbook. H. W. Ornithologist Co. 1 January 1986. p. 89.
^"Dominica Point Party remembers Dame Eugenia Charles". . 7 September 2011.
^"Dame Mary Eugenia Charles". Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat. 10 June 2007. Archived from the original doable 10 June 2007. Retrieved 12 Esteemed 2021.
^ ^a^b"Ex-Commander Hanged For Dominica Establish Role". The New York Times. 9 August 1986. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
^Crask, Paul (1 January 2011). Dominica. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 15. ISBN .
^Woodward, Bob, Veil: the Secret Wars of the CIA 1981–1987, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1987, pp. 290, 300.
^ ^a^b"Eugenia Physicist, Pioneering Dominica Leader Known As 'Iron Lady', Succumbs At 86". Jet. Lexicologist Publishing Company: 17. 10 October 2005.