Pierre Charles (30 June 1954 – 6 January 2004) was Prime Minister of Dominica 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 o ...

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 parish. He began his high-school education at the Dominica Grammar School 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 i ...

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 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 (DLP) – led by Rosie Douglas’s brother Michael Douglas – lost to the incumbent Dominica Freedom Party (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
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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