Sir Emmanuel Neville Cenac (born 24 November 1939) is the former

governor-general of Saint Lucia The governor-general of Saint Lucia is the representative of the Saint Lucian monarch, currently Charles III. The official residence of the governor-general is Government House. The position of governor-general was established when Saint Lucia ...

. He was appointed to that post in January 2018. On 28 July 2021 Cenac is reported to have signalled his intention to resign. As of 31 October, he demitted the viceregal office (but his demission was with effect 10 November). He was previously best known as a

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindian ...

n politician, serving as the

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

from 1987 to 1992. On 18 January 2018, Cenac was appointed

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

(GCMG) in the 2018 Special Honours. Also in 2018, Cenac was appointed Grand Cross of the

Order of Saint Lucia The Order of Saint Lucia is an order of chivalry established in 1986 by Elizabeth II. The Order comprises seven classes. In decreasing order of seniority, these are: * ''Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Lucia'' (GCSL) * ''Knight/Dame Commander ...

(GCSL), in his capacity as Chancellor of the Order.

Family

Cenac was the brother 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 is not ...

Winston Cenac Winston Francis Cenac Q.C. (14 September 1925 – 22 September 2004) was a civil servant and politician from Saint Lucia. He was the third elected Prime Minister of independent Saint Lucia. He served as General Procurator for Saint Lucia, Saint ...

, who was the

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...

for eight months from 1981 to 1982.

Opposition parliamentarian

Cenac was the leader of the opposition

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 Cooperative Un ...

in December 1982, during a constitutional dispute over the status of

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

Boswell Williams Boswell Bennie Williams (May 16, 1926 – July 20, 2014) was a Saint Lucian politician who represented the district of Vieux Fort in the legislature from 1974 to 1979. He was appointed by Queen Elizabeth II of Saint Lucia as governor-general o ...

John Compton Sir John George Melvin Compton, (29 April 1925 – 7 September 2007) was a Saint Lucian politician who became the first Prime Minister upon independence in February 1979. Having led Saint Lucia under British rule from 1964 to 1979, Compton ser ...

, the serving prime minister and a member of the governing United Workers Party, had taken steps to have Williams unseated. In response, Cenac wrote a letter to

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, the

monarch of Saint Lucia The monarchy of Saint Lucia is a system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of Saint Lucia. The current monarch and head of state, since 8 September 2022, is King Charles III. As sovereign, he is the ...

, asking her to disregard Compton's actions. The dispute ended when Williams resigned on 13 December 1982. Cenac was returned as a Labour Party member of the Saint Lucian parliament during the country's two successive elections in April 1987. The website of the Saint Lucia Labour Party indicates that Cenac was elected for the Laborie constituency in two elections as well as representing the party at the municipal level in

Castries Castries is the capital and largest city of Saint Lucia, an island country in the Caribbean. The urban area has a population of approximately 20,000, while the eponymous district has a population of 70,000, as at May 2013. The city stretches o ...

Cabinet minister

Cenac changed his political affiliation on 2 June 1987, joining the United Workers Party group in parliament and becoming the country's

foreign minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

. When asked why he changed sides, Cenac simply responded, "broken promises". The change increased the Workers Party's legislative majority from one vote (9-8) to three votes (10-7). Cenac spoke before the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

in October 1987, saying that Saint Lucia was considering political union with other small

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

nations. He argued that quality of life issues could be improved if the region no longer had to support "seven governors-general, seven prime ministers, nd60 ministers for a total population for about 500,000." Cenac also accused

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

of threatening the sovereignty of

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

. In August 1989, Cenac and other Caribbean foreign ministers met with

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

General

Prosper Avril Matthieu Prosper Avril (born December 12, 1937) is a Haitian political figure who was President of Haiti from 1988 to 1990. A trusted member of François Duvalier's Presidential Guard and adviser to Jean-Claude Duvalier, Lt. Gen. Avril led the Se ...

on the subject of future elections in the country.Edwige Balutansky, "CARIBBEAN MINISTERS SEE POSSIBLE HAITI ELECTIONS IN 1990," ''Reuters News'', 18 August 1999. Cenac served as foreign minister until 1992. He was later president of the

Senate of Saint Lucia The Senate of Saint Lucia is the upper house of the Parliament of Saint Lucia. It has 11 appointed members. All members are appointed by the Governor-General, of which 6 are appointed on the Prime Minister's advice, 3 on the advice of the leade ...

from October 1992 to June 1997.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cenac, Neville 1939 births Living people Saint Lucia Labour Party politicians United Workers Party (Saint Lucia) politicians Governors-General of Saint Lucia Foreign Ministers of Saint Lucia Presidents of the Senate of Saint Lucia Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George