Roosevelt Skerrit
Roosevelt Skerrit | |
|---|---|
 Skerrit in 2014 | |
| 6thPrime Minister of Dominica | |
| Assumed office 8 January 2004 | |
| President | Nicholas Liverpool Eliud Williams Charles Savarin Sylvanie Burton |
| Deputy | Ambrose George Reginald Austrie Irving McIntyre |
| Preceded by | Osborne Riviere(acting) |
| Member of Parliament forVieille Case | |
| Assumed office 31 January 2000 | |
| Preceded by | Vernice Bellony |
| Chairman of theCaribbean Community | |
| In office 1 July 2023[1]– 31 December 2023 | |
| Secretary-General | Carla Barnett |
| Preceded by | Philip Davis[1] |
| Succeeded by | Irfaan Ali |
| In office 1 January 2010 – 30 June 2010[1] | |
| Secretary-General | Edwin Carrington |
| Preceded by | Bharrat Jagdeo |
| Succeeded by | Bruce Golding |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 8 June 1972 Princess Margaret Hospital,Roseau, Dominica[2] |
| Political party | Dominica Labour Party |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | New Mexico State University, Las Cruces University of Mississippi, Oxford |
| Website | Official website |
Roosevelt Skerrit(born 8 June 1972) is aDominicanpolitician who has beenPrime Minister of Dominicasince 2004; he has also been theMember of Parliamentfor theVieille Caseconstituency since 2000. Regionally, he has served as the chairman of theOrganisation of Eastern Caribbean States(OECS) and most recently as chairman of theCaribbean Community(CARICOM) in 2010. Skerrit is currently the longest-serving prime minister of Dominica.
Prime minister
[edit]Roosevelt Skerrit, also known as "Roozey" by some of his closest family and friends, became prime minister after the death ofPierre Charlesin January 2004. At the time of Pierre Charles’ death, Skerrit was Member of Parliament for the Vieille Case constituency, a position he had held since his election in February 2000. In addition to being the Prime Minister, he has also served asMinister for Finance[3]since 2004, Minister of Education, Sports and Youth Affairs, andMinister for Foreign Affairsand is the political leader of theDominica Labor Party.
Upon taking office Skerrit became the world's youngest head of government, surpassingJoseph Kabilaof theDemocratic Republic of the Congo.With his party'sMay 2005 election victory,Skerrit became the world's first democratically elected national leader born in the 1970s. As of December 2010 Skerrit remained the youngest head of government in theWestern Hemisphereand the third youngest in the world, surpassed only byMadagascar'sAndry RajoelinaandMontenegro'sIgor Lukšić.[4][5]
In 2015, the Chinese billionaireNg Lap Sengwas arrested by the FBI. This was due to an ongoing UN bribery investigation. Skerrit was photographed with Ng shortly before the arrest. TheWall Street Journalstated that Ng told associates that he helped persuade Dominica to switch diplomatic recognition to China from Taiwan.[6]The opposition party scrutinized Skerrit on the matter. Skerrit informed them that the FBI was not interested in him.[7]
A 2019, an Al Jazeera investigation alleged that Skerrit had been receiving money in exchange for diplomatic passports and ambassadorships.[8]
In December 2019, Skerrit won his fourth consecutive generalelectioneighteen seats to three, becoming the first Dominica Prime Minister ever to do so.[9]
On 1 July 2023. Prime Minister Dr Roosevelt Skerrit assumed the chairmanship of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).[10]He also chaired the meeting of the countries under the CARICOM and asked for the innovative ways to strengthen the region.[11][12]
After theHamas attack on Israelin October 2023, Skerrit called for a ceasefire in theIsrael–Hamas war.[13]
References
[edit]- ^abc"ROTATION SCHEDULE FOR THE CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE CONFERENCE 1 JANUARY 2018 TO 30 JUNE 2025"(PDF).Retrieved2023-01-08.
- ^Dominica News Online(accessed 18 January 2011)ArchivedMarch 3, 2011, at theWayback Machine
- ^"Home - Ministry of Finance".finance.gov.dm.
- ^Who's your daddy?(accessed 24 December 2010)ArchivedOctober 24, 2014, at theWayback Machine
- ^Deputy Prime Minister > Biography(accessed 24 December 2010)ArchivedJuly 22, 2011, at theWayback Machine
- ^O’Keeffe, Kate (2015-10-17)."China Tycoon Back Under U.S. Scrutiny".Wall Street Journal.ISSN0099-9660.Retrieved2016-10-10.
- ^"PM Skerrit denies association in UN bribery scandal".Dominica News Online.Retrieved2016-10-10.
- ^Al Jazeera Investigations | Diplomats for Sale,retrieved2019-11-29
- ^Sorhaindo, Rupert (10 December 2019)."Reflections on Dominica 2019 general election results".Caribbean News Global.
- ^Reporter, WIC News (2023-08-11)."CARICOM Chairman Roosevelt Skerrit engages with COP28 President-Designate, calls for urgent climate action".WIC News.Retrieved2023-09-05.
- ^Byron, Anglina (2023-05-26)."Dominica: PM Roosevelt Skerrit chairs CARICOM council meeting with Labour Ministers".Associates Times a Caribbean News website.Retrieved2023-09-05.
- ^Reporter, WIC News (2023-07-04)."PM Roosevelt Skerrit pledges to support Haiti as CARICOM Chairman".WIC News.Retrieved2023-09-05.
- ^Henry, George (10 October 2023)."Caribbean nations push for ceasefire in Israel-Hamas conflict".WriteUps24.Archivedfrom the original on October 12, 2023.
External links
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| Chief ministers(1960–1967) |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Premiers(1967–1978) | ||
| Prime ministers(1978–) | ||
Acting officeholders shown initalics | ||
- 1972 births
- Living people
- People from Roseau
- Prime ministers of Dominica
- Foreign ministers of Dominica
- Finance ministers of Dominica
- Dominica Labour Party politicians
- Members of the House of Assembly of Dominica
- New Mexico State University alumni
- University of Mississippi alumni
- 21st-century Dominica politicians