| The Honourable Arnhim Ulric Eustace MP |
|
|---|---|
| Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | |
| In office 27 October 2000 – 28 March 2001 |
|
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governor General | Charles Antrobus |
| Preceded by | James Fitz-Allen Mitchell |
| Succeeded by | Ralph Gonsalves |
| Leader of the New Democratic Party | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 27 October 2000 |
|
| Preceded by | James Fitz-Allen Mitchell |
| Member of Parliament for East Kingstown |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 15 June 1998 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1945 |
| Political party | New Democratic Party |
Arnhim Ulric Eustace (born 1945) is a Vincentian politician and economist, who was the third Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and is the current leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP).[1]
Eustace is currently the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of East Kingstown and the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Assembly of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.[2]
On 27 October 2000, Eustace succeeded James Fitz-Allen Mitchell as the leader of the NDP. Eustace's NDP was defeated in the 2001 general election in which the party was reduced to 3 seats, producing a majority government for the Unity Labour Party.[3]
In the 2005 general election, Eustace's NDP also won 3 seats.[4] In the 2010 general election, Eustace's NDP saw an increase in the popular vote to 48.67%, winning 7 seats in a close election.[5] The number required to form a majority in the House of Assembly of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is 8, and the NDP did not form government.[5]
Eustace attended St Vincent Boys' Grammar School. He attended Sir George William University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where he earned a bachelor's degree in economics.[2] and a master's degree in economics from University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada.
In 1977, Eustace joined the Caribbean Development Bank in Barbados. He rose from Administrative Officer through the ranks of the institution, ultimately becoming Director of Projects before repatriating to St. Vincent in 1993.
In 1985 Eustace was for 18 months seconded by the CDB to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) which assigned him to the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to review and implement changes to the public finance system and to manage government finances as Director General of Finance and Planning.
Upon his 1993 return to St. Vincent, Eustace was appointed Fiscal Adviser to the Government of St. Viincent and the Grenadines.
In 1998, he resigned from the public service and ran for political office, winning the East Kingstown parliamentary seat (which he has won for the past 4 consecutive elections by increasing margins of victory). Following the 1998 general election, he was appointed Minister of Finance, Planning and the Public Service. Later that year he was offered the post of Deputy Secretary General of the Commonwealth Secretariat, which he declined.
From 1993 to 1998 Eustace was chairman of WIBDECO as well as the Joint Venture Holding Companies in the UK. He headed the Windward Islands negotiating team for the acquisition of GEEST Bananas in a joint venture with Fyffes of Ireland. Eustace was chairman of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS).He was also the Government Director on the board of the East Caribbean Group of Companies.
In 2000, Eustace was elected leader of the New Democratic Party and upon the October 2000 retirement of Sir James Mitchell, became prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines until the NDP's loss at the March 2001 General Elections.
Eustace remains president of The New Democratic Party and Leader of the Opposition. In the three general elections his party has contested since he took the helm, the NDP has risen from 3-12 to 7-8, within narrow reach of forming government.
Samuel, Vin G. (1 April 2003). The Life and Times of Dr. John Parmenas Eustace. Trafford Publishing. p. 204. ISBN 9781553952985. http://books.google.com/books?id=q32NMk4TUJkC&pg=PA204. Retrieved 9 May 2010.
| Preceded by James Fitz-Allen Mitchell |
Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2000–2001 |
Succeeded by Ralph Gonsalves |
|
|
|||||||