Francis William Fonseca (born 11 March 1967) is a Belizean politician who served as leader of the

People's United Party The People's United Party (PUP) is one of two major political parties in Belize. It is currently the governing party of Belize after success in the 2020 Belizean general election, winning a majority of 26 seats out of 31 in the Belizean House ...

(PUP) and as Leader of the Opposition of Belize from 2011 to 2016.Party Leader , People's United Party

. (accessed 23 September 2014) First elected to the

Belize House of Representatives The House of Representatives of Belize is one of two chambers of the National Assembly, the other being the Senate. It was created under the 1981 constitution. Members are commonly called "Area Representatives." Area Representatives are elect ...

from the

Belize City Belize City is the largest city in Belize and was once the capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2010 census, Belize City has a population of 57,169 people in 16,162 households. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, wh ...

-based

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...

in 2003, Fonseca served as Attorney General and Minister of Education, Culture and Labour in Prime Minister

Said Musa Said Wilbert Musa (, born 19 March 1944) is a Belizean lawyer and politician. He was the Prime Minister of Belize from 28 August 1998 to 8 February 2008. Early life and education Said Wilbert Musa was born in 1944 in San Ignacio in the Cayo ...

's cabinet until February 2008, when the PUP lost the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

to the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP). Fonseca was one of only six PUP representatives nationwide to retain his seat in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

in the 2008 election. Following the election defeat and subsequent resignation of Musa from the PUP leadership in March 2008, the party held a convention to select its new leader. Fonseca was a candidate for the party leadership at this convention, and he was considered to be the candidate preferred by the party establishment, but he was defeated by

Johnny Briceño John Antonio Briceño (born 17 July 1960) is a Belizean politician who is the 5th and current Prime Minister of Belize since 12 November 2020, and the leader of the People's United Party (PUP) since 2016. He was Leader of the Opposition from 20 ...

, receiving 310 votes against 330 for Briceño."Johnny stuns Francis in ‘Pan!"
Amandala Online, April 1, 2008. Fonseca successfully contested the PUP leadership in 2011 after Briceño's resignation. He led the party in the 2012 election, in which it was narrowly defeated. A National Convention was called on for January 31, 2016. Three candidates ran for the position, Orange Walk Central representative, Hon. Johnny Briceño, recently elected Lake Independence representative, Cordel Hyde and Freetown incumbent, Francis Fonseca contested it again although his announcement of retirement from politics. Following the November 2020 General Election in Belize in which the People's United Party was successful, Francis Fonseca was appointed as Minister of Education, Culture Science and Technology in the Cabinet of Prime Minister John Briceno.

Personal

Fonseca is an alumnus of St. John's College in Belize City and the

University of Southwestern Louisiana The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus University of Louisiana System and the s ...

, where he received a bachelor's degree in economics. In 1994 Fonseca received a law degree from the

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...

. He is a cousin of former PUP Rep.

Ralph Fonseca Ralph Henry Fonseca (born 9 August 1949) is a Belizean politician and a member of the People's United Party. Political history In 1984, he became a candidate for the House of Representatives in Queen's Square, running against attorney and ci ...

, who also served in the Musa Cabinet."Francis Fonseca on Why He Wants to Lead the PUP"

Tropical Vision Limited Tropical Vision Limited, or as it is locally known, Channel 7, is a Belize City based television station operating since 1981. Its Managing Director is Nestor Vasquez. Programming Channel 7 airs a mix of American and Belizean programmes. 7 N ...

, February 25, 2008. (accessed 25 October 2014)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fonseca, Francis 1967 births Living people People from Belize City People's United Party politicians Belizean people of Spanish descent Government ministers of Belize Attorneys-General of Belize Members of the Belize House of Representatives for Freetown