The State House, located in

Roseau Roseau (Dominican Creole French, 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, Dominica, Saint George Pa ...

, is the

official residence An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either their own or that of th ...

of the

president of Dominica The president of Dominica is the head of state under the system implemented by the Constitution of 1978, the year of Dominica's independence. The current president is Sylvanie Burton, since 2 October 2023. List of officeholders Source: ;Pol ...

. Previously it was used as the official residence of the colonial governors of Dominica.

History

The residence of the British governors of the island, and for a time the French, is situated on a low hill to the south of the commercial center of Roseau. Written accounts from the 1790s make mention of various plants and an avenue of trees in the grounds of Government House. The gardens here have suffered periodically from

hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

. Many fine trees were destroyed by the main storms of the 20th century in 1916, 1930 and 1979. Sir William Young was sworn in as governor of Dominica on 14 November 1770. He was responsible for among other things, directing the construction of the first Government House which he built near the Fort Young. Once the official residence of the Queen's representative, the building has been the home to the president of Dominica since independence in 1978. In 2012 work began on the redevelopment of the State House campus. These works included the construction of a new residence for the president of the Commonwealth of Dominica, the restoration of the old State House, the construction of a new building to house the Electoral Commission, new perimeter fencing, new parking and landscaping. The new state residence is now located in the center of the lawn, where a previous residence for former governors of the island once sat. It is in alignment with the newly restored former residence, and the new Electoral Commission offices along Jewel Street at the northern entrance to the campus. The redevelopment of the State House campus was completed in 2013.

References

{{Official Government residences in North America and the Caribbean Official residences in Dominica Presidents of Dominica Presidential residences Government Houses of the British Empire and Commonwealth Roseau Dominica–United Kingdom relations

History

See also

References