Pierre Charles (30 June 1954 – 6 January 2004) was

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 ...

from 2000 to 2004 as well as

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 of ...

for

Grand Bay, Dominica Grand Bay, known officially as Berekua or Berricoa, is a village in the south of Dominica. It has a population of 2,288 as of 2010,Commonwealth of Dominica, ''Population and Housing Census — 2001''. Roseau, Dominica: Central Statistical Office ...

, from 1985 until his death.

Biography

Charles was born in Grand Bay in

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...

parish. He began his high-school education at the

Dominica Grammar School The Dominica Grammar School (DGS) is a public co-education secondary school in Roseau, Dominica, established in 1893, one of the oldest educational institutions on the island. Contrary to its name, the school no longer functions as a tradition ...

and completed it at the St. Mary's Academy before pursuing studies at the local teachers' college. He served as a teacher and community organizer before entering elective office. He became ill in February 2003, and had

angioplasty Angioplasty, is also known as balloon angioplasty and percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA), is a minimally invasive endovascular procedure used to widen narrowed or obstructed arteries or veins, typically to treat arterial atheroscle ...

surgery. Concerns about his health led to calls for him to step down. However, he continued to serve as prime minister until his death, which occurred during a medical leave of absence. Osborne Riviere acted as

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 ...

in Charles' stead. However, upon return from his medical leave of absence, Charles succumbed at the age of 49 to a heart attack while being driven home from a

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

meeting.

Political ascendancy

In 1979, at the age of 25, Charles was appointed a Senator in Dominica’s Parliament. In the general elections of 1985, he contested the Grand Bay seat, and won, though his

Dominica Labour Party The Dominica Labour Party is a centre-left social-democratic political party in Dominica. History Founded in 1955 by Phyllis Shand Allfrey and Emmanuel Christopher Loblack, the Dominica Labour Party is the oldest political party in Dominica. N ...

(DLP) – led by

Rosie Douglas Roosevelt Bernard "Rosie" Douglas (15 October 1941 – 1 October 2000) was a politician and human rights activist from Dominica. He served as Prime Minister of Dominica from February 2000 until his death in office eight months later. Early life ...

’s brother

Michael Douglas Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the AF ...

– lost to the incumbent

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 ...

(DFP) under the leadership of the formidable Dame Eugenia Charles (no relation), Dominica's longest serving head of government. For the next 15 years, Pierre Charles remained in that position, as irremovable from Grand Bay as Rosie Douglas was from

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. When the DLP (in coalition with the DFP) came to power in 2000 under the leadership of Rosie Douglas, Charles was appointed Minister of Public Works and Communications. During the eight months of Douglas’s rule, Charles was often called upon to function as the acting Prime Minister. When Douglas suddenly died in October 2000, Charles was elevated as Douglas’s successor. He continued in office until his sudden death in January 2004. Charles was an Honorary Member of The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation.

References

External links

Dominica PM dies
''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' (Canada). {{DEFAULTSORT:Charles, Pierre 1954 births 2004 deaths Dominica Labour Party politicians Finance ministers of Dominica Foreign ministers of Dominica Members of the House of Assembly of Dominica People from Saint Patrick Parish, Dominica Prime Ministers of Dominica 21st-century Dominica politicians