Edward Oliver Le Blanc (October 3, 1923 – October 29, 2004) was a Dominican politician. He served as the

chief minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

of Dominica from January 1961 to March 1, 1967 and as the first premier of Dominica.

Life and career

Le Blanc was born in

Vieille Case Vieille Case, sometimes spelled as Vielle-Case, is a village on the north coast of Dominica. The Commonwealth of Dominica in the West Indies was first inhabited by the Kalinago tribe referred to by the Europeans as Caribs. Itassi (pronounced: e- ...

. He joined the

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 ...

in 1957. He joined the government of the

Federation of the West Indies A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governi ...

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

in 1958, but returned to Dominica later to become the leader of his party. He won a seat 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 ...

in 1961. Le Blanc served as

of Dominica from January 1961 to March 1, 1967. In March 1967, when the British granted Dominica more self-government, Le Blanc became premier. Le Blanc tried to implement

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

policies in Dominica. He was committed to helping poor workers, whom he called "little men", a catchphrase which still remains in Dominican politics. He was very popular with the voters, winning three elections in three different constituencies, and is believed by many to be one of the founders of the Dominican nation. He unexpectedly resigned on July 27, 1974, and retired from politics and public life. He did not explain his retirement and refused to give interviews, but it is believed that he was tired of the opposition to his policies by many in the government. He returned to Vieille Case, where he died.

References

1923 births 2004 deaths People from Saint Andrew Parish, Dominica Finance ministers of Dominica Dominica Labour Party politicians Members of the Federal Parliament of the West Indies Federation {{Dominica-politician-stub