Ralph Gonsalves
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| Ralph Everard Gonsalves | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 29 March 2001 |
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| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governor General | Charles Antrobus Monica Dacon Frederick Ballantyne |
| Deputy | Louis Straker |
| Preceded by | Arnhim Eustace |
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| Born | 8 August 1946 Colonaire, Saint Vincent, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
| Political party | ULP |
| Spouse | Eloise Gonsalves |
Ralph Everard Gonsalves (born August 8, 1946), also known as "Comrade Ralph", is the Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines. He has held that position since March 29, 2001. He is leader of the Unity Labour Party, and won the 2001 general elections by a landslide of 12 seats to 3, after a close run in the 1998 elections. He was re-elected in the December 2005 elections with the same parliamentary ratio.
He first entered political life as a student at the University of the West Indies at Mona, Jamaica; in 1968, as president of the Guild of Undergraduates, Gonsalves led the student protest at the banning of popular historian and intellectual Walter Rodney.
Gonsalves received his Ph.D. in political science from UWI, Mona, and went on to receive a law degree from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados before returning to practice law and become an active politician in his homeland.
Gonsalves, however, has faced criticisms on several fronts:
- The introduction of the Value Added Tax
- Some critics have faced court cases leading outside observers to question the validity of freedom of speech in St.Vincent
- The relocation/dislocation of nationals from some areas in the name of development
- Closer ties with Venezuela and Cuba[1]
- Dr Gonsalves' son was appointed ambassador to the united nations,leading to allegations of nepotism.[2]
- An increasing national debt.[3]
More recently he has been faced with two serious rape allegations. [1]
To his credit, however, Dr Gonsalves is responsible for the "Revolution in Education," which has substantially increased the number of persons of all classes obtaining an education. He has executed the majority of the plans set forth in the manifesto of the Unity Labour Party, and has represented St.Vincent and The Grenadines well at both the regional and international level.
It is believed that Dr Gonsalves will set up health clinics in downtrodden neighborhoods such as Pole Yard,and that foreign direct investors will be interviewed on television call in programs to provide greater unity between the vincentian populace and new foreign direct investors. He has said, "Modern terrorism is a barbarism out of sync with civilized.It is also believed that Dr Gonsalves will support introduction of rival airlines,to end the LIAT monopoly and the ties that bind the fate of St.Vincent to the fate of LIAT. life."[2]
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[edit] Allegations of sexual assault
A human rights attorney from Toronto filed a complaint against "Comrade Ralph" for sexual assault in May 2008. This adds to a series of charges "Comrade Ralph" faces over sexual misconduct, including one from a security guard over an incident in the prime minister's abode. [3]
[edit] Bibliography
(adapted from [4])
Books
- The spectre of imperialism: the case of the Caribbean (University of the West Indies; 128 pages, 1976)
- The non-capitalist path of development: Africa and the Caribbean (One Caribbean Publishers; 1981)
- History and the future: a Caribbean perspective (169 pages, 1994)
- Notes on some basic ideas in Marxism-Leninism (University of the West Indies; 56 pages)
Pamphlets
- The Rodney affair and its aftermath (University of the West Indies; 21 pages, 1975)
- The development and class character of the bourgeois state: the case of St. Vincent (University of the West Indies; 15 pages, 1976)
- Controls and influences on the civil service and statutory bodies in the Commonwealth Caribbean: a preliminary discussion (University of the West Indies; 67 pages, 1977)
- The development of the labour movement in St. Vincent (37 pages, 1977)
- Who killed sugar in St. Vincent? (United Liberation Movement; 21 pages, 1977)
- On the political economy of Barbados (One Caribbean Publishers; 49 pages, 1981)
- The trade union movement in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (Movement for National Unity; 64 pages, 1983)
- Ebenezer Joshua: his ideology and style (Movement for National Unity; 39 pages, 1984)
- (editor) The trial of George McIntosh (Caribbean Diaspora Press; 80 pages, 1985)
- Authority in the police force: its uses and abuses (Movement for National Unity; 45 pages, 1986)
- Banana in trouble: its present and future (Movement for National Unity; 22 pages, 1989)
[edit] External Links
Rape Allegation [5]
[edit] References
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Arnhim Eustace |
Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2001 – present |
Incumbent |
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