Mario F. Michel (born 1960) is a Saint Lucian lawyer and politician and since 2009 has been a judge of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.
Michel studied Economics and History at the University of the West Indies in Cave Hill, Barbados. He then went on to study at the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad and Tobago from 1988 to 1990. In 1990 he started his own legal practice, Michel & Company , which he pursued until being elected to Parliament in 1997, representing the district of Gros Islet.
Michel is a former president of the National Youth Council and an avid bridge player who has represented the island at many tournaments. From 1997 he was part of the Prime Minister Kenny Anthony's cabinet, serving as Minister of Education, Human Resource Development, Youth and Sports and the position of Deputy Prime Minister. [1] He presided over the establishment of Universal Secondary Education and cut a figure of principle and was sometimes construed as obdurate. His tenure was also characterised by confrontations with Saint Lucia Teachers Union some of which ended in short industrial actions.
After the executive of the Saint Lucia Labour Party voted to remove their term limit clause and effectively allow current leader, Dr Kenny Anthony to take the party into the 2006 elections he announced his intention not to partake in the General Elections of 2006. He returned to his private legal practice. There has been talk about the return of Michel to the helm of the party. He has hinted this in a recent television interview where he said coyly that he was getting many requests from people to return to politics but he was still weighing up his options.
In 2009, Michel was appointed a High Court Judge of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court; he was assigned to live in and hear cases from Antigua and Barbuda. In 2012, he became an Appeals Court Judge for the same court, with jurisdiction over all states of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.
The politics of Antigua and Barbuda takes place in a framework of a unitary parliamentary representative democratic monarchy, wherein the sovereign of Antigua and Barbuda is the head of state, appointing a governor-general to act as vice-regal representative in the nation. A prime minister is appointed by the governor-general as the head of government, and of a multi-party system; the prime minister advises the governor-general on the appointment of a Council of Ministers. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the Parliament. The bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The politics of Dominica takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Dominica is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the House of Assembly. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
The politics of Grenada takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, whereby the prime minister is the head of government. Grenada is an independent Commonwealth realm. It is governed under a multi-party parliamentary system whose political and legal traditions closely follow those of the United Kingdom; it has a prime minister and a cabinet, and a bicameral Parliament with an elected House of Representatives and an appointed Senate. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. Constitutional safeguards include freedom of speech, press, worship, motion, and association. Grenada is a member of the eastern Caribbean court system. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Jurisprudence is based on English common law.
The politics of Saint Kitts and Nevis takes place in the framework of a federal parliamentary democracy. Saint Kitts and Nevis is an independent Commonwealth realm with Charles III as its head of state, viceregally represented by a Governor-General. He acts on the advice of the prime minister, who is the majority party leader in the National Assembly, and who, with a cabinet, conducts affairs of state.
Politics of Saint Lucia takes place in the framework of an independent parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy, with King Charles III 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 majority party of the house, and the cabinet conducts affairs of state. The Governor General exercises basically ceremonial functions, but residual powers, under the constitution, can be used at the governor general's discretion. The actual power in St. Lucia lies with the prime minister and the cabinet, usually representing the majority party in parliament.
Politics of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines takes place in the framework of a parliamentary democracy. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an independent Commonwealth realm, with Charles III as its king, 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 majority party of the House of Assembly, and the cabinet conducts affairs of state. The governor-general exercises ceremonial functions, but reserve powers, under the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines constitution, can be used at the governor-general's discretion.
The politics of Fiji take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic. Fiji has a multiparty system with the Prime Minister of Fiji as head of government. The executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Parliament of Fiji. The judiciary is mostly independent of the executive and the legislature.
The politics of Barbados function within a framework of a parliamentary republic with strong democratic traditions; constitutional safeguards for nationals of Barbados include: freedom of speech, press, worship, movement, and association.
Kenny Davis Anthony is a Saint Lucian politician who was Prime Minister of Saint Lucia from 1997 to 2006 and again from 2011 to 2016. 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 election. He left office after the SLP's defeat in the 2016 election and announced his resignation as party leader.
Denzil Llewellyn Douglas is a Saint Kittitian and Nevisian politician and the longest-serving prime minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, in office from 1995 to 2015. He was the leader of the Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) from 1989 to 2021. He was the leader of the parliamentary opposition from 1989 to 1995 and from 2015 to 2022.
Sir Julian Robert Hunte, SLC, KCMG, OBE, was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saint Lucia from April 2001 to 26 October 2004, when he was succeeded by Petrus Compton. He is the Permanent Representative for Saint Lucia to the United Nations, after presenting his credentials to the Secretary-General of the United Nations on 7 December 2004.
George William Odlum was a Saint Lucian left-wing politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. Born in Castries, Odlum studied at Bristol University and Oxford University in the United Kingdom before returning to Saint Lucia as Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Trade. After working for the Commonwealth Secretariat and the West Indies Associated States, he formed the Saint Lucia Forum, a left-wing pressure group. This group merged with the Saint Lucia Labour Party in time for the 1974 elections; although the Party did not win, the progress they made allowed them to take power in 1979, with Odlum as Deputy Prime Minister.
The Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) is a social democratic political party in Saint Lucia. It currently holds 13 of the 17 seats in the House of Assembly.
Sir Allan Fitzgerald Laurent Louisy was the second prime minister of independent St Lucia, following Sir John Compton in office. He was born in Laborie on 5 September 1916 and served as a judge before being elected to parliament in 1974.
Vaughan Allen Lewis, KCSL CBE, is a Saint Lucian politician and a former member of the United Workers' Party (UWP). He served for a brief period as the fifth Prime Minister 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 2 April 1996. He also served as Minister of Finance, Planning and Development, and Minister of External Affairs. In elections that followed on 23 May 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.
Sir George Frederick Lawrence Charles was a trade unionist, politician, founder of the Saint Lucia Labour Party and Chief Minister of Saint Lucia. He is a recipient of Saint Lucia's second-highest honour, the St. Lucia Cross (1987), and was knighted in 1988 by Queen Elizabeth II. George F. L. Charles Airport, in Castries, Saint Lucia, is named in his honour.
Philip Joseph Pierre is a Saint Lucian politician currently serving as the Prime Minister of Saint Lucia since 28 July 2021. Pierre serves as the Minister for Finance, Economic Development and the Youth Economy. He is the Leader of the Saint Lucia Labour Party since 18 June 2016. He has represented the Castries East constituency in the House of Assembly since 1997.
Keith Raymond Rufus Mondesir is a Saint Lucian politician. He has been a United Workers Party member of the House of Assembly of Saint Lucia and a member of the Saint Lucian cabinet since 2006, serving in the administrations of John Compton and Stephenson King.
Peter Lenard "Spider" Montoute is a Saint Lucian politician and former Minister and parliamentary representative for Gros Islet for the United Workers Party (UWP). Montoute lost his seat in the 2021 Saint Lucian general election to Kenson Casimir; this was a landslide victory for the Saint Lucia Labour Party.
Stephenson King is the former Prime Minister of Saint Lucia. He is the Senior Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Ports, Transport, Physical Development, and Urban Renewal. King was the former candidate for the United Workers Party (UWP). He now represents the constituency of Castries North as an Independent candidate as of July 2021, after resigning from the UWP.