Saint Lucia is a constitutional monarchy and an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs (respectively), two Amerindian peoples. Part of the Windward Islands 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 617 km2 with an estimated population of over 180,000 people as of 2018. The nation's capital and largest city is Castries.
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.
The House of Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of Saint Lucia, elected by popular vote. The upper house is the Senate. It has 17 or 18 members: 17 members elected for a five-year term in single-seat constituencies, and a speaker elected by the 17 members, who may be one of their number or a person chosen from outside the House. To be elected to the house, a person must be at least 21 years old.
The Senate of Saint Lucia is the upper house of the Parliament of Saint Lucia. It has 11 appointed members. All members are appointed by the Governor-General, of which 6 are appointed on the Prime Minister's advice, 3 on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and 2 independent members which the Governor-General appoints using his or her own judgment.
The Parliament of Saint Lucia is the bicameral legislative branch of the government of Saint Lucia. It consists of the King, who is represented by the governor general), and the 2 parts of the legislature, the Senate and the House of Assembly.
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.
Sir Allen Montgomery Lewis was a Saint Lucian barrister and public servant who twice served as the country's Governor-General.
The monarchy of Saint Lucia is a system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of Saint Lucia. The current monarch and head of state, since 8 September 2022, is King Charles III. As sovereign, he is the personal embodiment of the Saint Lucian Crown. Although the person of the sovereign is equally shared with 14 other independent countries within the Commonwealth of Nations, each country's monarchy is separate and legally distinct. As a result, the current monarch is officially titled King of Saint Lucia and, in this capacity, he and other members of the Royal Family undertake public and private functions domestically and abroad as representatives of the Saint Lucian state. However, the King is the only member of the royal family with any constitutional role.
Sir Emmanuel Neville Cenac is the former governor-general of Saint Lucia. He was appointed to that post in January 2018. On 28 July 2021 Cenac is reported to have signalled his intention to resign. As of 31 October, he demitted the viceregal office. He was previously best known as a Saint Lucian politician, serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1987 to 1992.
Alvina Reynolds is a Saint Lucian politician who has been president of the Senate of Saint Lucia since 2022. She represented the Babonneau constituency for the Saint Lucia Labour Party from 2011 to 2016. She is the first female Member of Parliament for that area. She was the Minister for Health, Wellness, Human Services and Gender Relations. She won her seat in the 2011 general election and lost the seat in the 2016 general election. She was appointed as a government member of the senate on 28 July 2021 and became senate president on 24 November 2022.
Allen Michael Chastanet is a Saint Lucian businessman and politician who served as Prime Minister of Saint Lucia from 2016 to 2021. He is currently the Leader of the Opposition of Saint Lucia and the political leader of the United Workers Party as well as the parliamentary representative for Micoud South constituency.
Dame Sandra Prunella Mason is a Barbadian politician, lawyer, and diplomat who is serving as the first president of Barbados since 2021. She was previously the eighth and final governor-general of Barbados from 2018 to 2021, the second woman to hold the office. On 20 October 2021, Mason was elected by the Parliament of Barbados to become the country's first president, and took office on 30 November 2021, when Barbados ceased to be a constitutional monarchy and became a republic.
The Federal Parliament of the West Indies Federation was the bicameral legislature in West Indies Federation from 1958 to 1962. It was formally made up of two houses, an appointed Senate and an elected House of Representatives.
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.
Claudius James Francis is a Saint Lucian television talk show host and politician, who has been Speaker of the House of Assembly since 2021. He was President of the Senate from 2012 to 2016. Francis is the former chairman of the Saint Lucia Labour Party.
Events from the year 2022 in Saint Lucia
Leader of the Opposition is a constitutionally sanctioned office in Saint Lucia. The Constitution indicates that there shall be a Leader of the Opposition in the House of Assembly of Saint Lucia who is appointed by the Governor-General of Saint Lucia.
Leonne Theodore-John is a Saint Lucian politician, who was President of the Senate of Saint Lucia from April 2010 to December 2011. She was also Speaker of the House of Assembly from 12 June 2016 to 1 March 2018, when she resigned the position. During her time as speaker she supported diplomatic relations between Taiwan and Saint Lucia. She has also undertaken the role of Commissioner on the Constituencies Boundaries Commission of Saint Lucia. From 2018 to February 2022 she held the office of Deputy High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
