The Presidents of Dominica

On Tuesday, October 2, 2018, Charles Angelo Savarin was sworn-in as the eighth president of the Commonwealth of Dominica.

Before him, seven men have held the prestigious position since the island gained independence on November 3, 1978, from Britain.

They are Frederick Degazon, Aurelius Marie, Sir Clarence Seignoret, Crispin Sorhaindo, Vernon Shaw, Dr. Nicholas Liverpool and Eliud Williams.

On December 21, 1978, Frederick Degazon was elected by the House of Assembly as the first president of Dominica. He took up office on January 19, 1979, after being speaker of the House of Assembly from 1977-78.

He was born in St. Lucia in 1913 and practiced privately as an attorney. During the disturbances associated with the constitutional crisis in June 1979, he and his wife fled from the island at dawn and secretly escaped to England via Antigua leaving the island without a president.

On Wednesday, January 30, 1980, it was announced in parliament that a telegram was received from the High Commissioner in London stating that President Degazon had resigned with effect from January 29, 1980.

The following from Dr. Lennox Honychurch’s the Dominica Story tells of the turmoil in the presidency and Dominica after Degazon fled Dominica: “The President, Fred Degazon, and his wife fled the island at dawn on 11 June for England without informing anyone. The retired Governor Sir Louis Cools-Lartigue agreed, at (Prime Minister, Patrick) John’s request, to become Acting President only to resign less than 24 hours later after being pressured to do so by his family and by stone-throwing incidents and looting around his family’s house and cake shop.”

“At 1.10 pm on 21 June 1979, the resident judge Winszey Bruno, acting on the advice of the Chief justice, then in Antigua, swore in barrister-at-law Jenner Armour as Acting President. At 1.15 pm Armour swore in Oliver Seraphin as the new Prime Minister of Dominica. Minutes later Patrick John was officially informed that since he now failed to command the majority of members in the Dominica House of Assembly, his appointment as Prime Minister was thereby revoked. It was hailed as a ‘constitutional coup’.

Caribbean Contact, the monthly newspaper of the Caribbean Council of Churches headlined it a ‘palace coup’ but the Caribbean media generally welcomed the outcome as a victory for the people of Dominica.

It must be noted that Jenner Armour was installed as Acting President of Dominica after Frederick Degazon fled Dominica. He remained as Acting President (21 June 1979 – 25 February 1980) until the resignation of Degazon and later became a member of Cabinet under the late Dame Mary Eugenia Charles. His name has never been listed as a ‘full president,’ a matter which has generated much debate.

The House of Assembly then elected Aurelius Marie on February 25, 1980, for the seat of president. Marie took the Oath of Office a day later before Justice Cecil Hewlett. He served as president until 1983.

Sir Clarence Seignoret was elected by the House of Assembly on December 19, 1983, for a term commencing December 21, 1983.

Sir Clarence had been acting as President since May 23, 1983, because of Marie’s illness and took Oath on December 19, 1983.

He was elected for a further term in office by the House of Assembly on October 24, 1988, and took Oath on December 20, 1988, and served as president until 1993.

Apart from being the President of Dominica, Sir Clarence was also the first Cabinet Secretary and a civil servant.

He was born in Roseau in 1919 and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II during her second visit to Dominica. He was awarded the Dominica Award of Honor by the State in 1994, Order of the Liberator granted by Venezuela in 1987 and Knight of Malta in 1992. Sir Clarence passed away on 5th May, 2002.

Vielle Casse native Crispin Anselm Sorhaindo was Sir Clarence’s successor. He was the Speaker of the Dominica House of Assembly from 1989-1993 and then was elected President of Dominica, serving one term, 1993-1998.

Sorhaindo was a delegate at the London Conference in 1966 that created Dominica as a self-governing Associated State of Britain, Speaker of the House of Assembly, Vice President and Director of the Caribbean Development Bank, Financial Secretary of Dominica and Clerk of the Executive and Legislative Councils.

For his services to the state, Sorhaindo was awarded the Dominica Award of Honour (D.A.H) Dominica’s highest state award, Order of the British Empire (OBE) and the Venezuelan Naval Medal Almirante Luis Brion.

In recognition of his significant contribution to the Roman Catholic Church in Dominica in various capacities, Sorhaindo received the Papal Award of Knight Commander of the Order of St. Sylvester in 1993. He died of cancer at 78 on January, 2010.

Fifth President of the Commonwealth of Dominica, Vernon Lorden Shaw was sworn in on October 2nd, 1998 and served as President until 2003.

Shaw received various national awards including the Sisserou Award of Honor conferred in 1990 and the Dominica Award of Honor in 2001.

He was one of the first Permanent Secretaries in 1967 when Dominica gained internal self-government as an Associated State of Britain.

He initially served in the Ministry of Education and Health and later became Chief Establishment Officer in 1971 in External Affairs. In 1977 he was appointed Secretary to the Cabinet and was reconfirmed in the post on November 3, 1978 as well as being made Ambassador at Large and Inspector of Missions.

Between 1991 and 1993 he served as Resident Tutor for the University of the West Indies School of Continuing Studies in Roseau.

Dr. Nicholas Liverpool was born on September 9, 1934 and is a well respected jurist. He spent 18 years as a law lecturer at the University of the West Indies in Barbados and in 1992 became dean of its law school.

He served as a regional judge and then an appeal court judge in several countries in the Caribbean including Belize and Grenada. He served as high court judge in Antigua and Montserrat.

He became Dominica’s ambassador to the United States in 1998 and remained in that capacity until 2001. In July 2008 he agreed to serve a second term as President upon the expiration of his first term, following a joint nomination by Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit and then Opposition Leader Earl Williams.

Eluid Williams was born on August 21, 1948. He is a University of the West Indies’ graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting, and a master’s degree in Business Administration.

He is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute of the United Kingdom. Williams has pursued specialized training in Regulatory Strategy and Policy at the University of Florida and in Development Administration at the Manitoba Institute of Management.

He served in the public service as a Permanent Secretary from 1987 to 2004, and has also served as a director on several national and regional boards, including the Organization of Caribbean Utility Regulators (OOCUR). Williams also served as chairman of the Independent Regulatory Commission (IRC).
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