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 Dominica Labour Party is a centre-left social-democratic political party in Dominica.
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.
General elections were held in Dominica on 5 May 2005. The result was a victory for the ruling Dominica Labour Party, which won 12 of the 21 seats in the House of Assembly. The opposition United Workers' Party unsuccessfully made legal challenges to several of the constituency results.
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, the 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 Cabinet of Dominica is appointed by the President of Dominica acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister of Dominica.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani is a Qatari diplomat, economist, and politician who has been serving as the Prime Minister of Qatar since 7 March 2023 and Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2016. He has also been serving as Chairman of the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) since 2014, and is a member of Qatar's Supreme Council for Economic Affairs and Investments (SCEAI) since 2014.
Dominica–India relations refers to the international relations that exist between Dominica and India, both republics in the Commonwealth of Nations. The High Commission of India in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago is concurrently accredited to Dominica. Neither country hosts a resident diplomatic mission of the other.
The Commonwealth of Dominica has been operating a citizenship by investment programme since 1993, making it the second Caribbean island-nation to launch one such programme – having been preceded by the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis.
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.
Dickon Amiss Thomas Mitchell is a Grenadian politician and attorney serving as the prime minister of Grenada since 24 June 2022 and the leader of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) since 2021. He led his party to victory in the 2022 general election.
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.
Kenneth Melchoir Darroux is a Dominican politician and doctor. He is currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs since 17 December 2019 in Dominica. Prior to his appointment as Foreign Affairs Minister he was the Minister for Health and Social Services in the government of Roosevelt Skerrit. He is a member of the Dominica Labour Party (DLP).
Alwin Anthony Bully was a Dominican cultural administrator, playwright, actor and artist, who designed the national flag of Dominica. Bully was bestowed with the Sisserou Award of Honour, the nation's second highest honour, in 1985. He was responsible for establishing and developing Dominica's Department of Culture and was its first director. Viewed as being the island's "cultural icon", Bully's contributions were to arts and culture, also impacting on the areas of education and communication, and according to Dominica News Online there was no Dominican more decorated and honoured in those fields than Bully, whose influence extended to the wider Caribbean.
During the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, calls for a ceasefire have been a common feature of international reactions to the conflict. Many international actors perceived an urgent need for a ceasefire due to the severity of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the increasing death toll of civilians, primarily due to the Israeli blockade and invasion of the Gaza Strip. Notably, the leaders of some European governments that generally support Israel in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict were among the voices calling for a ceasefire, including France, Spain, Portugal and Ireland, alongside Turkey, Russia, Egypt, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, among others.
Denise Charles-Pemberton, formerly Denise Charles, is a politician from Dominica, who in 2019 was appointed Minister for Tourism, International Transport and Maritime Initiatives for the Government of Dominica. Key issues for her ministry to address is the recovery of the country's tourism sector after the impact of COVID-19, as well as the impact of climate change.
