Oliver James "O. J." Seraphin (or Seraphine; born August 2, 1943) is a former Dominican politician. He served as the Minister of communication and works and housing for the Labour Party government from 1975–1979 and acting

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 ...

of Dominica from 25 June 1979 until 21 July 1980.

Early life

Seraphin grew up in

Roseau, Dominica Roseau (Dominican Creole: ''Wozo'') is the capital and largest city of Dominica, with a population of 14,725 as of 2011. It is a small and compact urban settlement, in the Saint George parish and surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, the Roseau Ri ...

, the capital, and received primary and secondary education at Roseau Mixed School and Dominica Grammar School; later in life, he studied at the Carnegie Institute in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. Prior to politics, he worked in the insurance industry.

Government Minister

He served in the socialist

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 ...

government of Prime Minister

Patrick John Patrick Roland John (7 January 1938 – 6 July 2021) was the first Prime Minister of Dominica as well as its last Premier. He led Dominica to independence from the United Kingdom. He was leader of the Waterfront and Allied Workers' Union and ma ...

from 1975 to 1979. Seraphin originally held the posts of Minister of Communications, Works, and Housing, but in a cabinet reshuffle, the Prime Minister made him Minister of Agriculture, Lands, Fisheries and Caricom Affairs. During this time, the Commonwealth of Dominica gained its independence from the United Kingdom. When violent crowds opposed to the John government protested outside 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 ...

, Seraphin resigned.

Prime Minister

Seraphin became

on June 25 1979, at the request of the Committee of National Salvation. In August 1979, Dominica was hit by

Hurricane David Hurricane David was an extremely deadly hurricane which caused massive loss of life in the Dominican Republic in August 1979, and was the most intense hurricane to make landfall in the country in recorded history. A Cape Verde hurricane that rea ...

, which killed over 76 people, and devastated much of the island. Seraphin was preoccupied with rescue and rebuilding efforts. He traveled to Barbados, Canada, France, the United States, and Venezuela to seek financial aid for rebuilding his country's infrastructure, in which he did. He was known to also help and rebuild homes for the homeless financing it all from his own personal account. He restored the island and helped create jobs. In his one plus year in office, he is said to have helped over half of the population of the island in the biggest hurricane Dominica has faced. He lost the 1980 general election to Eugenia Charles.

Life after politics

Seraphin's government is commonly referred to as the "Interim Government." Since leaving politics, he has returned to business, especially that which is tourism-related, and maintains a public profile. He is married to Lily Seraphin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seraphin, Oliver 1943 births Living people People from Roseau Dominica Labour Party politicians Prime Ministers of Dominica Agriculture ministers of Dominica Communication ministers of Dominica Foreign ministers of Dominica Fisheries ministers of Dominica Housing ministers of Dominica Public works ministers of Dominica Members of the House of Assembly of Dominica Dominica businesspeople