The first written records in the history of Dominica began in November 1493, when Christopher Columbus spotted the island. Prior to European contact, Dominica was inhabited by the Arawak. Dominica was a French colony from 1715 until the end of the Seven Years' War in 1763, and then became a British colony from 1763 to 1978. It became an independent nation in 1978.
The Kalinago, also called Island Caribs or simply Caribs, are an Indigenous people of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. They may have been related to the Mainland Caribs (Kalina) of South America, but they spoke an unrelated language known as Kalinago or Island Carib. They also spoke a pidgin language associated with the Mainland Caribs.
Roosevelt Skerrit is a Dominican politician who has been Prime Minister of Dominica since 2004; he has also been the Member of Parliament for the Vieille Case constituency since 2000. Regionally, he has served as the chairman of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and most recently as chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in 2010. Skerrit is currently the longest-serving prime minister of Dominica.
The Dominica Freedom Party (DFP) is a conservative political party in Dominica. It shares much of the same socially and economically conservative principles as the Conservative Party in the UK. The party has been led by Bernard Hurtault since 2021.
The United Workers' Party is a centrist political party in Dominica. As of the 2022 general election, the party is not represented in the House of Assembly of Dominica, after boycotting the general election. The past Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly is Lennox Linton.
Charles Angelo Savarin, DAH is a politician from Dominica who served as President of Dominica from 2013 to 2023. He is a member of the Dominica Labour Party and served for a time as Minister for National Security, Immigration, Labour and the Public Service.
The House of Assembly is the legislature of Dominica. It is established by Chapter III of the Constitution of Dominica, and together with the President of Dominica constitutes Dominica's Parliament. The House is unicameral, and consists of twenty-one Representatives, nine senators, and the Attorney General as an ex officio member. The Speaker of the House becomes the thirty-second member if chosen from outside the membership of the House.
Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. Dominica's closest neighbours are two constituent territories of the European Union, both overseas departments of France: Guadeloupe to the northwest and Martinique to the south-southeast. Dominica comprises a land area of 750 km2 (290 sq mi), and the highest point is Morne Diablotins, at 1,447 m (4,747 ft) in elevation. The population was 71,293 at the 2011 census.
The Leader of the Opposition of the Commonwealth of Dominica is the Member of Parliament who leads the Official Opposition in the House of Assembly of Dominica.
Claudius Sanford is a Dominican politician in the United Workers' Party. He served in the House of Assembly of Dominica as an Opposition Senator from 2005 to 2009, and from August 2010 to October 2011.
The Chief of the Kalinago Territory presides over the Kalinago Council, the local government of the Kalinago Territory. The position is the equivalent of a village council chairperson elsewhere in Dominica. Beginning in the late 20th century, Kalinago Chiefs have also acted as a representative of the Kalinago Territory to other indigenous populations in the Caribbean region, and have worked with organizations including the Caribbean Organization of Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations.
Lennox Irving Linton is a Dominican politician in the United Workers' Party (UWP). He was first elected as the Representative for the Marigot constituency in the House of Assembly of Dominica on 8 December 2014. He served as Leader of the Opposition from 22 December 2014 until the 6 December 2022 snap general election and as Leader of UWP from 1 September 2013 until his resignation on 3 October 2022. He currently serves as President of the United Worker’s Party. He is a former journalist, radio presenter, party leader and corporate executive.
General elections were held in Dominica on 6 December 2019. The elections were constitutionally due by March 2020, but had been widely expected to take place before the end of 2019. The result was a landslide victory for the ruling Dominica Labour Party, which won 18 of the 21 elected seats, gaining three seats. With the DLP winning a fifth consecutive election, DLP leader Roosevelt Skerrit remained Prime Minister.
The nations of Dominica and Mexico established diplomatic relations in 1979. Both nations are members of the Association of Caribbean States, Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, Organization of American States and the United Nations.
General elections were held in Saint Lucia on 26 July 2021, having been constitutionally required by 12 October 2021. Voters elected all 17 members of the House of Assembly. The result was a victory for the opposition Saint Lucia Labour Party, which won 13 of the 17 seats in the House, while the ruling United Workers Party lost nine of its eleven seats, its worst result since 1997. It was the fourth consecutive election in which the incumbent government was defeated.
Anette Thomas-Sanford is a Dominican nurse and politician, and in 2024 became the first woman to serve as Chief of the Kalinago Territory in 400 years. She served as a Senator in the House of Assembly from 10 February 2020 to 6 December 2022 for the opposition United Workers' Party.
Snap general elections were held in Dominica on 6 December 2022. Boycotted by the opposition United Workers' Party (UWP) and Dominica Freedom Party (DFP), the ruling Dominica Labour Party led by Roosevelt Skerrit, who had been prime minister since 2004, retained its supermajority in the House of Assembly by winning 19 of the 21 elected seats. Turnout was low at only 32%, the first time in Dominican history that less than half of eligible voters participated in a general election.
Events in the year 2023 in Dominica.
Sylvanie Burton is a politician from Dominica who has served as the president of Dominica since 2023, after being elected in the 2023 Dominican presidential election. She is the first woman and first Indigenous (Kalinago) president of Dominica.
