Vaughan Lewis
Encyclopedia
Vaughan Lewis is a Saint Lucia
n politician and a former member of the ruling United Workers' Party (UWP). He served for a brief period as the fourth Prime Ministers of Saint Lucia following the resignation of John Compton
. Lewis, a former director of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
, assumed the office of Prime Minister on April 2, 1996. He also served as Minister of Finance, Planning and Development, and Minister of External Affairs. In elections that followed on May 23, 1997, Lewis and the UWP suffered a huge setback, losing all but one of their seats in Parliament, forcing him to resign in favor of the leader of the Saint Lucia Labour Party
, Dr. Kenny Anthony
.
Compton defeated Lewis for the UWP leadership in a party conference in Soufrière
on March 13, 2005. Compton received 260 votes against 135 for Lewis.
Following this defeat, Lewis resigned from the United Workers Party and joined the ruling Saint Lucia Labour Party. On 7 September 2006, the executive of the Saint Lucia Labour Party endorsed Dr. Vaughan Lewis as its candidate for the Castries Central constituency in the December 2006 general election
.
Lewis' defection to Labour has been controversial. After losing two general elections in a row, Lewis had the opportunity to win the Castries Central seat in a February 2006 by-election. He then told UWP supporters first that he was the endorsed candidate. He then told them that he was taking time to make up his mind. Finally, he quit the UWP all together and said that he was no longer interested in electoral politics. However, Lewis had been in talks with high-ranking members of the St Lucia Labour Party about his defection since he was defeated by Compton in the leadership contest.
More troubling for Labour's top strategists was the fact that Lewis had brought Desmond Brathwaite into the party with him. Brathwaite is best known as the Women's Affairs Minister who was charged with kicking his wife down a flight of stairs in 1994. He was terribly unpopular but became so close to Lewis in 1996 that when asked why he didn't drop Brathwaite for political reasons, Lewis replied, "I'd rather lose with Brathwaite than win without him." It led to the most crushing defeat in St Lucian political history. There were two other candidates, one of whom, then Senator Petra Nelson, subsequently left the St Lucia Labour Party to campaign for the United Workers Party in the 2006 General Elections.
On the face of it, Labour put up a good front, hailing Lewis, the same man they had previously ridiculed as an uncontrollable drunk in 1997, as a great Caribbean citizen and intellectual who was betrayed by Sir John Compton.
Lewis failed in his bid to win the Castries Central parliamentary seat from the UWP candidate Richard Frederick
in the 2006 general elections
held on December 11. Lewis returned to academia and is now a Professor at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus in Trinidad and Tobago. He has returned to St. Lucia occasionally to appear on the platform of the St Lucia Labour Party. He was chosen as part of a task force to explore the possibility of a union between Trinidad and Tobago and The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States.
He is married to Shirley Lewis, a Grenadian who practises law in St. Lucia, and has two children. He is part of the prominent Lewis clan, son of St. Lucia's first Governor General, Sir Allen Lewis, and nephew of Sir Arthur Lewis, Nobel prize winner in economics.
Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia is an island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 620 km2 and has an...
n politician and a former member of the ruling United Workers' Party (UWP). He served for a brief period as the fourth Prime Ministers of Saint Lucia following the resignation of John Compton
John Compton
Sir John George Melvin Compton, KBE, PC was the first, fifth and eighth Prime Minister of Saint Lucia in 1979, from 1982 to 1996, and from 2006 until his death. Compton, who previously led Saint Lucia under British rule from 1964 to 1979, was the country's first leader when it became independent...
. Lewis, a former director of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States , created in 1981, is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, protection of human and legal rights, and the encouragement of good governance between countries and dependencies in the Eastern Caribbean...
, assumed the office of Prime Minister on April 2, 1996. He also served as Minister of Finance, Planning and Development, and Minister of External Affairs. In elections that followed on May 23, 1997, Lewis and the UWP suffered a huge setback, losing all but one of their seats in Parliament, forcing him to resign in favor of the leader of the Saint Lucia Labour Party
Saint Lucia Labour Party
The Saint Lucia Labour Party is a social democratic political party in Saint Lucia. It currently holds ten of the 17 seats in the House of Assembly.-History:...
, Dr. Kenny Anthony
Kenny Anthony
Kenny Davis Anthony is a Saint Lucian politician who was the fifth Prime Minister of Saint Lucia from 1997 to 2006. As leader of the Saint Lucia Labour Party, he was Leader of the Opposition from 2006 to 2011 and returned to office as Prime Minister on 30 November 2011 following the 2011...
.
Compton defeated Lewis for the UWP leadership in a party conference in Soufrière
Soufrière, Saint Lucia
Soufrière is a quarter on the Southwest coast of Saint Lucia in the West Indies. Soufrière was the former capital of Saint Lucia during times of French rule. It is now a small sleepy fishing port with an emerging tourism industry...
on March 13, 2005. Compton received 260 votes against 135 for Lewis.
Following this defeat, Lewis resigned from the United Workers Party and joined the ruling Saint Lucia Labour Party. On 7 September 2006, the executive of the Saint Lucia Labour Party endorsed Dr. Vaughan Lewis as its candidate for the Castries Central constituency in the December 2006 general election
Saint Lucian general election, 2006
The 2006 Saint Lucia general election took place in Saint Lucia on 11 December 2006. The election was fought between the Saint Lucia Labour Party and the United Workers Party which between them dominated politics in Saint Lucia...
.
Lewis' defection to Labour has been controversial. After losing two general elections in a row, Lewis had the opportunity to win the Castries Central seat in a February 2006 by-election. He then told UWP supporters first that he was the endorsed candidate. He then told them that he was taking time to make up his mind. Finally, he quit the UWP all together and said that he was no longer interested in electoral politics. However, Lewis had been in talks with high-ranking members of the St Lucia Labour Party about his defection since he was defeated by Compton in the leadership contest.
More troubling for Labour's top strategists was the fact that Lewis had brought Desmond Brathwaite into the party with him. Brathwaite is best known as the Women's Affairs Minister who was charged with kicking his wife down a flight of stairs in 1994. He was terribly unpopular but became so close to Lewis in 1996 that when asked why he didn't drop Brathwaite for political reasons, Lewis replied, "I'd rather lose with Brathwaite than win without him." It led to the most crushing defeat in St Lucian political history. There were two other candidates, one of whom, then Senator Petra Nelson, subsequently left the St Lucia Labour Party to campaign for the United Workers Party in the 2006 General Elections.
On the face of it, Labour put up a good front, hailing Lewis, the same man they had previously ridiculed as an uncontrollable drunk in 1997, as a great Caribbean citizen and intellectual who was betrayed by Sir John Compton.
Lewis failed in his bid to win the Castries Central parliamentary seat from the UWP candidate Richard Frederick
Richard Frederick
Richard Frederick is a Saint Lucian lawyer and politician who was Minister for Physical Planning, Housing, Urban Renewal and Local Government. Born on August 6, 1965, he is the tenth of twelve children and the last of five boys...
in the 2006 general elections
Saint Lucian general election, 2006
The 2006 Saint Lucia general election took place in Saint Lucia on 11 December 2006. The election was fought between the Saint Lucia Labour Party and the United Workers Party which between them dominated politics in Saint Lucia...
held on December 11. Lewis returned to academia and is now a Professor at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus in Trinidad and Tobago. He has returned to St. Lucia occasionally to appear on the platform of the St Lucia Labour Party. He was chosen as part of a task force to explore the possibility of a union between Trinidad and Tobago and The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States.
He is married to Shirley Lewis, a Grenadian who practises law in St. Lucia, and has two children. He is part of the prominent Lewis clan, son of St. Lucia's first Governor General, Sir Allen Lewis, and nephew of Sir Arthur Lewis, Nobel prize winner in economics.
See also
- List of Prime Ministers of Saint Lucia
- United Workers' Party (Saint Lucia)
- Politics of Saint LuciaPolitics of Saint LuciaPolitics of Saint Lucia takes place in the framework of an independent parliamentary democratic Commonwealth Realm with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state, represented by a Governor General, who acts on the advice of the prime minister and the cabinet. The prime minister is the leader of the...
- Organisation of Eastern Caribbean StatesOrganisation of Eastern Caribbean StatesThe Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States , created in 1981, is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, protection of human and legal rights, and the encouragement of good governance between countries and dependencies in the Eastern Caribbean...