Roosevelt Skerrit

Roosevelt Skerrit (born 8 June 1972) is a Dominican politician who has been Prime Minister of Dominica since 2004; he has also been the Member of Parliament for the Vieille Case constituency since 2000. Regionally, he has served as the chairman of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and most recently as chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in 2010. Skerrit is currently the longest-serving prime minister of Dominica.

Roosevelt Skerrit
Skerrit in 2014
6th Prime Minister of Dominica
Assumed office
8 January 2004
PresidentNicholas Liverpool
Eliud Williams
Charles Savarin
Sylvanie Burton
DeputyAmbrose George
Reginald Austrie
Irving McIntyre
Preceded byPierre Charles
Member of Parliament
for Vieille Case
Assumed office
31 January 2000
Preceded byVernice Bellony
Chairman of the Caribbean Community
Assumed office
1 July 2023[1]
Secretary-GeneralCarla Barnett
Preceded byPhilip Davis[1]
In office
1 January 2010 – 30 June 2010[1]
Secretary-GeneralEdwin Carrington
Preceded byBharrat Jagdeo
Succeeded byBruce Golding
Personal details
Born (1972-06-08) 8 June 1972
Princess Margaret Hospital, Roseau, Dominica[2]
Political partyDominica Labour Party
Spouse
​
(m. 2013)​
Children3
Alma materNew Mexico State University,
Las Cruces
University of Mississippi,
Oxford
WebsiteOfficial website

Prime Minister

Roosevelt Skerrit, also known as "Roozey" by some of his closest family and friends, became Prime Minister after the death of Pierre Charles in January 2004. At the time of Pierre Charles’ death, Skerrit was Member of Parliament for the Vieille Case constituency, a position he had held since his election in February 2000. In addition to being the Prime Minister, he has also served as Minister for Finance[3] since 2004, Minister of Education, Sports and Youth Affairs, and Minister for Foreign Affairs and is the political leader of the Dominica Labor Party.

Upon taking office Skerrit became the world's youngest head of government, surpassing Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. With his party's May 2005 election victory, Skerrit became the world's first democratically elected national leader born in the 1970s. As of December 2010 Skerrit remained the youngest head of government in the Western Hemisphere and the third youngest in the world, surpassed only by Madagascar's Andry Rajoelina and Montenegro's Igor Lukšić.[4][5]

In 2015, the Chinese billionaire Ng Lap Seng was arrested by the FBI. This was due to an ongoing UN bribery investigation. Skerrit was photographed with Ng shortly before the arrest. The Wall Street Journal stated that Ng told associates that he helped persuade Dominica to switch diplomatic recognition to China from Taiwan.[6] The opposition party scrutinized Skerrit on the matter. Skerrit informed them that the FBI was not interested in him.[7]

A 2019, an Al Jazeera investigation alleged that Skerrit had been receiving money in exchange for diplomatic passports and ambassadorships.[8]

The current Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit

In December 2019, Skerrit won his fourth consecutive general election eighteen seats to three, becoming the first Dominica Prime Minister ever to do so.[9]

On 1 July 2023. Prime Minister Dr Roosevelt Skerrit assumed the chairmanship of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).[10] He also chaired the meeting of the countries under the CARICOM and asked for the innovative ways to strengthen the region.[11][12]

After the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023, Skerrit called for a ceasefire in the Israel–Hamas war.[13]

References
  1. "ROTATION SCHEDULE FOR THE CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE CONFERENCE 1 JANUARY 2018 TO 30 JUNE 2025" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-01-08.
  2. Dominica News Online (accessed 18 January 2011) Archived March 3, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Home - Ministry of Finance". finance.gov.dm.
  4. Who's your daddy? (accessed 24 December 2010) Archived October 24, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  5. Deputy Prime Minister > Biography (accessed 24 December 2010) Archived July 22, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  6. O’Keeffe, Kate (2015-10-17). "China Tycoon Back Under U.S. Scrutiny". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  7. "PM Skerrit denies association in UN bribery scandal". Dominica News Online. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  8. Al Jazeera Investigations | Diplomats for Sale, retrieved 2019-11-29
  9. Sorhaindo, Rupert (10 December 2019). "Reflections on Dominica 2019 general election results". Caribbean News Global.
  10. Reporter, WIC News (2023-08-11). "CARICOM Chairman Roosevelt Skerrit engages with COP28 President-Designate, calls for urgent climate action". WIC News. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
  11. Byron, Anglina (2023-05-26). "Dominica: PM Roosevelt Skerrit chairs CARICOM council meeting with Labour Ministers". Associates Times a Caribbean News website. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
  12. Reporter, WIC News (2023-07-04). "PM Roosevelt Skerrit pledges to support Haiti as CARICOM Chairman". WIC News. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
  13. Henry, George (10 October 2023). "Caribbean nations push for ceasefire in Israel-Hamas conflict". WriteUps24. Archived from the original on October 12, 2023.
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