Samuel Baptiste (born December 19, 1963, in

Saint Croix Saint Croix; nl, Sint-Kruis; french: link=no, Sainte-Croix; Danish and no, Sankt Croix, Taino: ''Ay Ay'' ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincorpo ...

) is a

United States Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...

politician and businessman. He was most recently a Democratic candidate for

Lieutenant Governor of the United States Virgin Islands A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in 2010 as the

running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint Ticket (election), ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate ...

of Senator Adlah Donastorg Jr.

Biography

Early life

Samuel Baptiste was born on

Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands Saint Croix; nl, Sint-Kruis; french: link=no, Sainte-Croix; Danish and no, Sankt Croix, Taino: ''Ay Ay'' ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincorpo ...

, on December 19, 1963. His mother, Elaine Baptiste was from

Willikies Willikies (sometimes spelled ''Willikie's'') is a small settlement in Saint Philip Parish, located in the eastern part of Antigua island in Antigua and Barbuda. It is located to the north of Nonsuch Bay, between Seaton's Seatons is a village ...

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

, while his father, Lennard Baptiste, was originally from the town of

Castle Bruce Castle Bruce is a village on the east coast of Dominica. It is the largest settlement in St. David Parish, with a population of 1,339.Commonwealth of Dominica, ''Population and Housing Census — 2001''. Roseau, Dominica: Central Statistical Of ...

, Dominica. He was raised in

Frederiksted Frederiksted is both the town and one of the two administrative districts of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. It is a grid-planned city, designed by surveyor Jens Beckfor, originally to 14x14 blocks but built 7x7 to enhance the island commerce in ...

, where he attended Claude O. Markoe Elementary School and Arthur Richards Junior High School. Baptiste graduated from high school in Florida. Baptiste enlisted in the U.S. Army following his graduation from high school. He remained a member of the Army for thirteen years. He was based with the

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cum ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. Baptiste was honorably discharged in March 1997.

Education

Baptiste received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

business administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

from the

University of the Virgin Islands The University of the Virgin Islands (or UVI) is a public historically black land-grant university in the United States Virgin Islands. History UVI was founded as the College of the Virgin Islands on March 16, 1962. In 1986, it officially beca ...

in 2001. He later obtained two master's degrees in business administration and

public administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...

from the University of the Virgin Islands in 2009.

Business career

Baptiste runs a

H&R Block H&R Block, Inc., or H&R Block, is an American tax preparation company operating in Canada, the United States, and Australia. The company was founded in 1955 by brothers Henry W. Bloch and Richard Bloch. As of 2018, H&R Block operates approximat ...

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

, located in Villa La Reine on

. He also owns the Virgin Islands Training Institute. He was employed at

Hovensa Limetree Bay Refinery (known also as Hovensa) is an oil refinery located on the island of Saint Croix in the United States Virgin Islands. The refinery was a joint venture between Hess Corporation and PDVSA. For most of its operating life as HOV ...

, an

oil refinery An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, lique ...

in Saint Croix, for ten years before resigning in 2010 to run for Lieutenant Governor.

Political career

Baptiste served as an assistant commissioner of Property and Procurement under former U.S. Virgin Islands Governor Roy Schneider in August 1997. Baptiste also unsuccessfully ran for Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands in 2002 as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. On July 25, 2010, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Senator

Adlah Donastorg Adlah Alphonso "Foncie" Donastorg, Jr. (born December 30, 1961) is a U.S. Virgin Islander politician, who served as a Senator in the Legislature of the Virgin Islands for seven terms from January 1995 through January 2011. He was most recently a ...

announced that Baptiste would be his running mate for Lieutenant Governor in the upcoming 2010 gubernatorial election. Donastorg and Baptiste were defeated in the 2010 Democratic

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

on September 11, 2010, by incumbent Governor John de Jongh. Donatorg and Baptiste came in second place in the primary, garnering 4,300 votes, or 30.61% of the total vote.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baptiste, Samuel 1963 births People from Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands Living people United States Virgin Islands businesspeople University of the Virgin Islands alumni Democratic Party of the Virgin Islands politicians United States Virgin Islands people of Antigua and Barbuda descent United States Virgin Islands people of Dominica descent