Earl Michael Williams (born February 28, 1964) is a
Dominican politician who was
Leader of the Opposition in Dominica and
political Leader
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
of the
United Workers' Party from 2007 to 2008.
Early life and career
Williams was educated at the Salisbury Government School and the Community High School. He completed his A-Levels at the Sixth Form College.
Williams then served as a teacher at various schools on the island and participated in sports as a coach and player. He was an active member of the Credit Union movement not only in Salisbury but on the Island as well as the Caribbean. He served both on the Supervisory Committee and the board of the Salisbury Co-operative Credit Union as Well as Treasurer of the Dominica Credit Union League Movement and twice was one of Dominicas Delegates at the Caribbean Conference of Credit Unions.
Political career
Williams was a member of the Young Freedom Movement, the youth arm of the
Dominica Freedom Party
The Dominica Freedom Party (DFP) is a conservative political party in Dominica. It shares much of the same socially and economically conservative principles as the Conservative Party in the UK. The party has been led by Bernard Hurtault since 2 ...
which was important to the party's success. He was very active in his community, and he was rewarded for this when in the 1990 General Elections he was elected to Parliament for the Salisbury Constituency. By this time he was no longer associated with the Freedom Party and was now a member of the UWP.
The youngest ever parliamentarian on the island, he learned quickly and was a very vocal member of the opposition. In 1995 the UWP formed the government and Williams widened his margin of victory in the Salisbury (
Barroui) Constituency, transforming it into a UWP stronghold. He was appointed Minister of Communications and Works and Housing. As a minister he was very instrumental in the liberalization of the telecoms market within the OECS states, by issuing a licence to telecoms provider Marpin Telecoms thereby opening up the sector for competition on the island. This decision had positive implications for the entire
OECS since at that time there were plans on reforming the sector.
In the January 31, 2000, General Elections Williams comfortably retained his seat. However, the UWP did not retain enough seats in the Parliament and they again returned to the opposition. Williams then decided that he would attend the
University of the West Indies to study Law. This provoked some criticism from government supporters, but generally his constituents were not angered by his decision.
In the May 5, 2005 Elections Williams again retained his seat by a wide margin, though his opponent did better than expected. The UWP put up a tough election campaign but they lost one seat in the parliament and remained in opposition. This second loss by the party evinced the need for a change of political leadership. Williams had become a very important member of the party, and he along with
Julius Timothy were the main contenders for the leadership.
In October 2005, he was called to the bar and this enhanced his chances of becoming the party leader. In December 2005,
Edison James
Edison Chenfil James (born October 18, 1943, in Marigot) is a Dominican politician who was the prime minister of Dominica from June 14, 1995, to February 3, 2000, as well as the member of parliament for the Marigot constituency from 1990. He gr ...
stood down as political leader and Williams replaced him. His election alienated
Julius Timothy, who as deputy leader under James thought he would have easily secured the leadership. This resulted in Timothy
crossing the floor
In parliamentary systems, politicians are said to cross the floor if they formally change their political affiliation to a different political party than which they were initially elected under (as is the case in Canada and the United Kingdom). ...
and joining the
DLP government in September 2006.
In July 2007
Edison James
Edison Chenfil James (born October 18, 1943, in Marigot) is a Dominican politician who was the prime minister of Dominica from June 14, 1995, to February 3, 2000, as well as the member of parliament for the Marigot constituency from 1990. He gr ...
resigned as leader of the opposition and Williams assumed that office.
In July 2008 Williams, in his capacity as an attorney, became embroiled in a controversy concerning a land deal.
Resignation
On July 30, 2008, in light of the controversy and in the interest of the party, Williams announced his resignation as
Leader of the Opposition and as party leader of the
United Workers' Party. However, he stated that after consultation with his constituents, he was "duty bound to honour the wishes of the people of Salisbury constituency" and continue as their
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
. This came days after Williams led an opposition boycott of
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Roosevelt Skerrit
Roosevelt Skerrit (born 8 June 1972) is a Dominican politician who has been Prime Minister of Dominica since 2004; he has also been the Member of Parliament for the Vieille Case constituency since 2000. Regionally, he has served as the chairman ...
's budget address to highlight allegations of corruption against Skerrit.
References
External links
United Workers Party website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Earl
1964 births
Living people
Members of the House of Assembly of Dominica
University of the West Indies alumni
United Workers' Party (Dominica) politicians
Government ministers of Dominica