Allen Michael Chastanet (born 20 November 1960) is a
Saint Lucian businessman and politician who served as
Prime Minister of
Saint Lucia from 2016 to 2021. He is currently the Opposition Leader of
Saint Lucia and the political leader of the
United Workers Party as well as the parliamentary representative for Micoud South constituency.
Education
In 1979, Chastanet graduated from high school at
Stanstead College
Stanstead College is an English-language independent boarding school in Stanstead, Quebec, Canada, for boys and girls in Grades 7 through 12. The school is located on a campus in Quebec's Eastern Townships – just north of the Canada–United S ...
in
Stanstead, Quebec
Stanstead is a town in the Memphrémagog Regional County Municipality in the Estrie region of Quebec, located on the Canada–United States border across from Derby Line, Vermont.
The Town of Stanstead was created in 1995 by the merger of t ...
. He holds a B.A. degree from
Bishop's University
Bishop's University (french: Université Bishop's) is a small English-language liberal arts university in Lennoxville, a borough of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The founder of the institution was the Anglican Bishop of Quebec, George Mountain ...
and an MSc degree from
American University
The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was chart ...
.
Business career
Chastanet worked as vice president of marketing and sales for
Air Jamaica
Air Jamaica was the national airline of Jamaica. It was owned and operated by Caribbean Airlines from May 2011 until the cessation of operations in 2015. Caribbean Airlines Limited, headquartered in Piarco, Trinidad and Tobago, had administrati ...
.
He is the managing director of the Coco Palm Hotel in
Rodney Bay
Rodney Bay is a town and bay located in the Gros Islet District on the island of Saint Lucia. Gros Islet is one of the ten districts in the island. It can be found on the northwestern coast of the island above the Castries District, where the ...
.
Political career
Chastanet was Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation and a member of the
Saint Lucian Senate from 2006 to 2011.
Chastanet unsuccessfully ran for a parliament seat for Soufriere Constituency in the
2011 general election. In 2013, he was elected leader of the opposition United Workers Party. Chastanet won the parliament seat for Micoud South constituency in the
2016 general election. He was sworn in as Prime Minister on 7 June 2016.
His government is aligned with that of the
United States in international relations. On Venezuela, he refuses to recognize President
Nicolas Maduro
Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to:
People Given name
* Nicolas (given name)
Mononym
* Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer
* Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer
Surname Nicolas
* Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...
and supports Juan Guaido, a opposition leader. He and other pro-US Caribbean leaders have been summoned to a meeting with Donald Trump in March 2019 to define a common policy on the situation in Venezuela and China's "predatory economic practices".
His government's mismanagement of the economy is pointed to by a report from the Central Bank of the Eastern Caribbean, which cites an explosion in debt. Saint Lucia has become the most indebted country in the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States.
On 26 July 2021, Chastanet and his political party
United Workers Party were not successful in the
2021 Saint Lucian general election
General elections were held in Saint Lucia on 26 July 2021, having been constitutionally required by 12 October 2021. Voters elected all 17 members of the House of Assembly. The result was a victory for the opposition Saint Lucia Labour Party ...
after they were defeated by the
Saint Lucia Labour Party
The Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) is a social democratic political party in Saint Lucia. It currently holds 13 of the 17 seats in the House of Assembly.
History
The party was established in 1949, backed by the Saint Lucia Workers Cooperativ ...
by a landslide.
Political positions
In April 2022, Chastanet stated his support for Saint Lucia to become a republic.
Personal life
Chastanet is the son of businessman Michael Chastanet. Allen Chastanet is married to attorney-at-law Raquel DuBoulay-Chastanet. They have two children.
See also
*
List of foreign ministers in 2017
This is a list of foreign ministers in 2017. Africa
*
*#Ramtane Lamamra (2013–2017)
*# Abdelkader Messahel (2017–2019)
* -
*# Georges Rebelo Chicoti (2010–2017)
*# Manuel Domingos Augusto (2017–2020)
* - Aurélien Agbénonci (2016–pr ...
*
List of current foreign ministers
This is a list of current foreign ministers of the 193 United Nations member states as well as the Holy See (Vatican City) and the State of Palestine.
Foreign ministers of sovereign countries with limited recognition, some alternative governmen ...
References
Living people
1960 births
American University alumni
Bishop's University alumni
Foreign Ministers of Saint Lucia
Government ministers of Saint Lucia
Hoteliers
Members of the Senate of Saint Lucia
Prime Ministers of Saint Lucia
Saint Lucian businesspeople
Tourism ministers
United Workers Party (Saint Lucia) politicians
Stanstead College alumni
Saint Lucian republicans
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