Richard Frederick (born 6 August, 1965) is a Saint Lucian lawyer and politician, and he is the Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister with Responsibility for Housing and Local Government. Fredrick made his debut in the 2021 Saint Lucian General Election, earning his seat for the Castries Central Constituency as an Independent candidate in 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 gove ...

. He previously served in parliament from 2006 to 2016, and he was Minister for Physical Planning, Housing, Urban Renewal and Local Government.

Early life

Born on 6 August 1965, Richard Frederick is the tenth of twelve children and the last of five boys. Raised in

Micoud Micoud District is one of 10 districts (formerly called quarters) of the Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia The seat of this district is the town of Micoud inside this district. According to the 2002 census, the population of the distric ...

on the southeast coast of the island, his farming parents worked to educate him and his siblings. Frederick attended St. Mary's College from 1977 to 1982, at which time he moved to the island's capital, Castries, to be closer to school. He subsequently studied law in the UK and became a barrister. He became a constant fixture on radio, first with the popular ''Avocat En hall La'', then hosting his ''Can I Help You?'' legal advice programme on HTS Radio, a show continuing despite his parliamentary status.

Political career

Frederick was elected to the Castries Central constituency as an Independent Member of Parliament, having won the by-election held on 13 March 2006, triggered by the resignation of

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 ...

's MP

Sarah Flood-Beaubrun Sarah Flood-Beaubrun (born 8 January 1969) is a Saint Lucian lawyer and politician. Beaubrun is the former representative for the constituency of Castries Central in the House of Assembly. Beaubrun lost her seat in the 2021 Saint Lucian Genera ...

. Subsequently endorsed by the United Workers Party (UWP), he was re-elected for the UWP in the December 2006 general election. He was sworn in as Minister for Housing, Urban Renewal and Local Government in the government of Prime Minister

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 se ...

on 19 December 2006. Following Prime Minister Compton's death, Frederick's portfolio was expanded to include Urban Renewal and Local Government in the 12 September 2007, cabinet reshuffle under new Prime Minister

Stephenson King Stephenson King (born 13 November 1958) is the former Prime Minister of Saint Lucia. He is the Senior Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Ports, Transport, Physical Development, and Urban Renewal. King was the former candidate for the Uni ...

. He subsequently failed in his bid to become deputy leader of the United Workers Party in 2008. A powerful criminal attorney, he has amassed millions and was embroiled in a customs scandal, which had to do with him allegedly underpaying customs duties for clearing personal vehicles through Customs. An investigation ensued. In 2007, he was taken into custody by police, acting on instructions from Customs Controller Terrance Leonard, for alleged

tax evasion Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the tax ...

and under-invoicing on the purchase of cars from the United States. No charges have since been laid. Frederick has enjoined the Attorney General in a suit he has brought related to this incident. He won the lawsuit, which was pursued with his brother, who himself was arrested for the same cause, and they were jointly awarded $50,000 for unlawful arrest. Frederick resigned as a cabinet minister in September 2011, following a Wikileak-related scandal regarding the withdrawal by the U.S. State Department of his diplomatic visa for entry in the United States. Mr. Frederick's diplomatic visa being revoked was in relation to US $25 million. If there exist reports of Frederick's considerable wealth and attacks regarding the acquisition of his assets, none are proven or have been found with merit yet. However, it remains a fact that he was one of the most, if not the most, expensive criminal defense lawyer on the island. He was reelected in his constituency in the 2011 general elections, but his party was defeated. On 17 August 2014, Frederick was expelled from the United Workers Party, after he blatantly refused to work with Allen Chastanet who had secured leadership of the United Workers Party. Although he was given an

ultimatum An ultimatum (; ) is a demand whose fulfillment is requested in a specified period of time and which is backed up by a threat to be followed through in case of noncompliance (open loop). An ultimatum is generally the final demand in a series ...

, he refused. He declined to contest the 2016 general election. Frederick was an independent Labour candidate in the 2021 general election, to represent Castries Central in Parliament. He defeated the incumbent,

, by 605 votes.Election 2021 Update: Frederick Takes Central from Flood
. ''The Voice St. Lucia''. 26 July 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick, Richard 1965 births Living people Members of the House of Assembly of Saint Lucia United Workers Party (Saint Lucia) politicians Government ministers of Saint Lucia People from Micoud Quarter