Patrick Roland John (7 January 1938 – 6 July 2021) was the first

Prime Minister of Dominica The prime minister of Dominica is the head of government in the Commonwealth of Dominica. Nominally, the position was created on November 3, 1978 when Dominica gained independence from the United Kingdom. Hitherto, the position existed de facto ...

as well as its last

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

. He led Dominica to

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

from 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 ...

. He was leader of the

Waterfront and Allied Workers' Union The Waterfront and Allied Workers' Union (WAWU) is a trade union in Dominica. It is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC); german: Internationaler Gewerkschaftsbund ( ...

and mayor of

Roseau Roseau (Dominican Creole: ''Wozo'') is the capital and largest city of Dominica, with a population of 14,725 as of 2011. It is a small and compact urban settlement, in the Saint George parish and surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, the Roseau Ri ...

before being elected to the legislature in 1970. He became Premier in 1974 following the resignation of

Edward Oliver LeBlanc Edward Oliver Le Blanc (October 3, 1923 – October 29, 2004) was a Dominican politician. He served as the chief minister of Dominica from January 1961 to March 1, 1967 and as the first premier of Dominica. Life and career Le Blanc was born in ...

. After mass protest forced him to resign, John unsuccessfully attempted in 1981 to overthrow the government of Prime Minister

Eugenia Charles Dame Mary Eugenia Charles, (15 May 1919 – 6 September 2005) was a Dominican politician who was Prime Minister of Dominica from 21 July 1980 until 14 June 1995. The first female lawyer in Dominica, she was Dominica's first, and to date only, fe ...

with the backing of

white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other Race (human classification), races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any Power (social and polit ...

groups (in what became dubbed "

Operation Red Dog Operation Red Dog was the code name of an April 27, 1981 military filibustering plot by Canadian and American citizens, largely affiliated with white supremacist and Ku Klux Klan groups, to overthrow the government of Dominica, where they planne ...

"). As a result, he was jailed for twelve years, of which he served five years. On 6 July 2021, John died at the Dominica China Friendship Hospital in

, Dominica, at the age of 83.

Premiership (1974–1978)

After the resignation of Edward O. LeBlanc in 1974, John succeeded him as

Premier of Dominica The Premier of Dominica was responsible for chairing Cabinet meetings in Dominica following the passage of the West Indies Associated States Act. Under this act, the Cabinet had responsibility for domestic affairs, while foreign affairs were dete ...

. The Labour Party administration led by John founded Dominica's National Commercial & Development Bank, and rid the capital city of Roseau of many shanty-type dwellings and replaced them with modern housing developments at Bath Estate and River Estate. John's government also opened a new deepwater harbour at Fond Cole and started the Dominica Social Security system. However, division grew in Dominica following the murder of a number of tourists in the mid-1970s and the emergence of a black power movement. John introduced legislation so broadly drawn that it even regulated acceptable modes of dress. Later, he indicated that revolutionary groups would not be tolerated. His reign as Premier and Prime Minister was regarded as one of the most tumultuous periods in Dominica's history. He was responsible for the infamous Prohibited and Undesirable Societies Act or " Dread Act", which was passed in 1974 and was meant to combat the lawlessness of countless Dominican youth. That act made it legal to arrest any "Dread" without a warrant and deny bail to anyone wearing "a badge of the society" i.e. dreadlocks.

Prime Ministership (1978–1979)

John became the first Prime Minister of Dominica on 3 November 1978 when the country was granted independence from Britain. John was the honorary commander of Dominica's 80-strong defense force and was in favor of a mixed economy. Internationally, he showed interest in development that saw the island's future linked with the West. One of his first acts after independence was to establish diplomatic relations with

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Crisis phase and resignation

Sentiment against the Labour Party government led by John continued to grow after the implementation of the Dread Act. On 29 May 1979, John's attempts to quell opposition to his leadership led to a clash outside parliament in which a young man named Phillip Timothy and another individual were killed, and a dozen others wounded. Resistance to his rule strengthened as public servants went on strike and the country was completely shut down. The Committee for National Salvation, led by Charles Savarin, called for a

general strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...

and the resignation of John and the government. One by one, Labour Party parliamentarians resigned their positions in the cabinet and they were often aided by a rain of stones from protesters. The first Labour Party minister to resign was Oliver Seraphin who then went on to become interim Prime Minister until elections in July 1980. On June 11, 1979, President Frederick Degazon fled to Britain. John was voted out of office by the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...

on June 20, 1979, and the general strike ended the next day.

Coup attempt

John lost his seat in the

Dominica House of Assembly Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographically ...

in the general elections of 1980. In 1981 John was among seven individuals including former commander of the DDF Major

Frederick Newton Frederick Newton (1951 – 8 August 1986) was the head of the Dominica Defence Force (DDF) from its independence in 1978 to 1981. He was executed in 1986 for organising an attempted coup d'état in 1981 that resulted in the death of a police offi ...

, who were arrested for alleged plots to overthrow the government. That year there were two attempted coups d'état. Disaffected

Dominica Defense Force The Dominica Defense Forces (DDF) was the military of the Commonwealth of Dominica. There has been no standing army in Dominica since 1981, when the Defense Force was disbanded in 1981 following two violent coup attempts against Dame Eugenia Ch ...

(DDF) members, aided by a group of Dreads (

Rastafarians Rastafari, sometimes called Rastafarianism, is a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control of ...

) near Giraudel, and foreign mercenaries sought to overthrow the duly elected

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 ...

government led by Prime Minister Mary Eugenia Charles. The attempts at a coup d'état were discovered, thwarted, and the plotters both in Dominica and the United States were exposed. Under emergency powers, John and others were arrested for their involvement in

, which had the aim of restoring John to power with the aid of

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

and

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

citizens, largely affiliated with

and

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

groups. In court cases which followed, the trial judge found that John was initially released, but the State appealed and the Court of Appeal ordered a new trial to take place. On October 23, 1985, John was found guilty and sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment for conspiring to overthrow the government. John was later pardoned by the same Prime Minister Mary Eugenia Charles he sought to overthrow, and he was released from prison on May 29, 1990.

Sports

Following his release from prison, John, formerly a member of the

Dominica national football team The Dominica national football team is the national team of Dominica and is controlled by the Dominica Football Association. They are a member of CONCACAF. Dominica has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup. History Beginnings Dominica pl ...

, became a local football administrator. In 1992, he was elected

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the

Dominica Football Association The Dominica Football Association is the governing body of football in Dominica. The Dominica national football team is the national team of Dominica and is controlled by the Dominica Football Association. The national league of Dominica is the ...

(DFA). Under his leadership the DFA became a

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

affiliate in 1994. He served as President until 2006, when he was voted out of office by the local football fraternity. In 2007, he was inducted into the

CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,, ; french: Confédération de football d'Amérique du Nord, d'Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes, . Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typese ...

Hall of Fame. In May 2008, he was re-elected as President of the DFA. The DFA administrative headquarters is named "Patrick John Football House" in honour of him. In November 2011, John was banned by FIFA from the sport for two years and fined $3,300, for his part in an alleged bribery scheme involving FIFA presidential candidate Mohamed bin Hammam..

References

External links

Tull: Tell us about coup rumours
NationNews, 4 October 2006