PM expresses sorrow over Dominica's PM's death

Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Perry G. Christie on Wednesday extended condolences to the family of Prime Minister Pierre Charles and to the government and people of the Commonwealth of Dominica on Prime Minister Charles' sudden death on Tuesday evening.

"The government and people of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas," Prime Minister Christie wrote in a letter to the President of Dominica, Nicholas Joseph Orville Liverpool, "join with the people of Dominica and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in recognizing the contribution that Prime Minister Charles has made to the growth and development of his country, and to the CARICOM region generally.

"We fondly remember the courage and spirit of Prime Minister Charles, who, despite his illness, fulfilled with distinction his role as Chairman of CARICOM during a critical period of the region's integration movement."

Reports from Dominica indicated that Prime Minister Charles, 49, died of a heart attack after leaving a Cabinet meeting, according to The Trinidad

Guardian. An autopsy was expected to be performed Thursday.

"He had a history of heart problems, and underwent angioplasty in Trinidad and Tobago in February, 2003, after complaining of chest pains while attending a CARICOM summit in Port-of-Spain. The procedure was repeated in Atlanta, Georgia, in August.

Prime Minister Charles returned to his desk in mid-December after taking a three-week leave of absence on his doctor's advice.

He leaves his widow, with whom he had two children, and a son from a previous relationship.

Edwin Carrington, Secretary-General of CARICOM, said Prime Minister Charles "approached his work in the community with the conviction that the viability and prosperity of the community was the only way forward as small states, and his quiet but firm style will be missed in the councils of the community."

Prime Minister Ralph Gonzalves of St. Vincent and the Grenadines said Prime Minister Charles was "a decent and good man, a dedicated patriot and a Caribbean nationalist."

According to The Trinidad Guardian, he said that while the late prime minister was not as flamboyant as his predecessor, the late Rosie Douglas, he was "very methodical in his approach, honest and decent."

Prime Minister Gonzalves said Dominica has had a difficult time in its leadership, having lost five leaders in 10 years.

Dominica's main political party has chosen the youthful Education Minister to succeed Prime Minister Charles. Education, Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Roosevelt Skerrit was given the nod by his party members one day after Prime Minister Charles' death.

However, since Dominica is governed by a coalition government, of which the Dominica Labour Party is the governing party with 10 of the 21 seats in the House of Assembly, Mr. Skerrit is yet to be approved.

Prime Minister Charles was born June 30, 1954, in the village of Grand Bay in southern Dominica, and first worked as a schoolteacher.

He was elected to Parliament in 1985, and appointed Prime Minister in 2000 after predecessor Roosevelt Douglas died of a heart attack.

The country's longest-serving legislator, Mr. Charles began as part of the opposition, and criticized the 1983 US invasion of nearby Grenada, which was supported by Dominca's then leader, Dame Eugenia Charles.

Recently, the prime minister was critical of the United States when its troops invaded Afghanistan. He also called on the United States to lift its trade embargo against Cuba. One of his first acts as prime minister was to establish diplomatic relations with Libya.

At home, Prime Minister Charles defended recent austerity measures as necessary to improve the economy of one of the Caribbean's poorest countries.

POSTED Saturday, January 10, 2004

© 2003 The Nassau Guardian