John Compton

Quality 0.50 · 2 views · Updated 2 months ago

First Prime Minister of Saint Lucia

title: "John Compton" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1925-births", "2007-deaths", "members-of-the-house-of-assembly-of-saint-lucia", "alumni-of-aberystwyth-university", "alumni-of-the-london-school-of-economics", "prime-ministers-of-saint-lucia", "ministers-of-finance-of-saint-lucia", "ministers-of-foreign-affairs-of-saint-lucia", "recipients-of-the-order-of-the-caribbean-community", "people-from-canouan", "immigrants-to-saint-lucia", "saint-vincent-and-the-grenadines-emigrants", "united-workers-party-(saint-lucia)-politicians", "knights_commander_of_the_order_of_st_michael_and_st_george", "20th-century-saint-lucian-politicians", "21st-century-saint-lucian-politicians"] description: "First Prime Minister of Saint Lucia" topic_path: "economics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Compton" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary First Prime Minister of Saint Lucia ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

Field	Value
honorific-prefix	The Right Honourable Sir
name	John Compton
honorific-suffix	KCMG, PC
image	John Compton 1986 (cropped).jpg
caption	Compton in 1986
order	1st
office	Prime Minister of Saint Lucia
monarch	Elizabeth II
governor-general	Dame Pearlette Louisy
term_start	15 December 2006
term_end	7 September 2007
deputy	Lenard Montoute
predecessor	Kenny Anthony
successor	Stephenson King
monarch1	Elizabeth II
governor-general1	Boswell Williams
Allen Montgomery Lewis
Vincent Floissac (acting)
Stanislaus A. James
deputy1	George Mallet
term_start1	3 November 1982
term_end1	2 April 1996
predecessor1	Michael Pilgrim
successor1	Vaughan Lewis
monarch2	Elizabeth II
governor-general2	Allen Montgomery Lewis
term2
deputy2	George Mallet
predecessor2	Himself (as Premier)
successor2	Allan Louisy
office3	Premier of Saint Lucia
deputy3	Hunter J. Francois
monarch3	Elizabeth II
governor3	Frederick Clarke
Ira Marcus Simmons
Allen Montgomery Lewis
term_start3	1 March 1967
term_end3	22 February 1979
predecessor3	Himself (as Chief Minister)
successor3	Himself (as Prime Minister)
office4	Chief Minister of Saint Lucia
monarch4	Elizabeth II
1blankname4	Administrator
1namedata4	Gerald Jackson Bryan
term_start4	April 1964
term_end4	1 March 1967
predecessor4	George Charles
successor4	Himself (as Premier)
birth_date
birth_place	Canouan, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
death_date
death_place	Tapion Hospital, Castries, Saint Lucia
death_cause	Complications from stroke
party	United Workers Party (from 1964)
otherparty	National Labour Movement (1961-1964)
Saint Lucia Labour Party (1956-1961)
Independent (before 1956)
spouse	Lady Barbara Janice Compton (née Clarke)
::

Sir John George Melvin Compton, (29 April 1925 – 7 September 2007) was a Saint Lucian politician who became the first prime minister upon independence in February 1979. Having led Saint Lucia under British rule from 1964 to 1979, Compton served as prime minister three times: briefly in 1979, again from 1982 to 1996, and from 2006 until his death in 2007. He cofounded the conservative United Workers Party (UWP) in 1964; he led the party until 1996, again from 1998 to 2000, and again from 2005 to 2007.

Early life and education

Compton was born on 29 April 1925 in Canouan, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. In September 1939, he was taken to Saint Lucia. While studying law and economics, Compton attended the University College of Wales from 1948 to 1949 and the London School of Economics from 1949 to 1951; he was called to the Bar on 7 August 1951.

Political career

Beginnings

Compton entered politics in 1954, successfully running for the Micoud/Dennery seat on the Saint Lucia Executive Council as an independent. He became the Council Member for Social Affairs in 1955, and served in this position until the Committee System was replaced by the Ministerial System in 1956. That same year, he joined the Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP). He participated in a sugar workers' strike in 1957, and was fined for obstructing roads. Re-elected in 1957, Compton became Minister for Trade and Production in 1958; he was also appointed deputy leader of the SLP under George Charles. In 1960 he was reappointed Minister of Trade and Industry when Charles became the first Chief Minister. Although Compton was re-elected in 1961, he chose not to join the Executive Council. Objecting to the SLP's new ministers, he left the SLP instead and formed a new party, the National Labour Movement.

In 1964, Compton merged the National Labour Movement with another opposition party, the People's Progressive Party, to form the United Workers' Party (UWP). This new party won the 1964 general election, making Compton the new Chief Minister.

Administration under British rule, 1964–1979

In office, Compton worked for Saint Lucia's independence from British rule. At the conference from April to May 1966 that led to this change, In 1968, he married Barbara Janice Clarke, with whom he would have five children.

Following the UWP's victory in the 1974 election, Compton pushed for negotiations leading to independence, which was achieved on 22 February 1979; Compton became the newly independent nation's first Prime Minister.

As Prime Minister and in opposition, 1979–1996

A few months after independence in 1979, the UWP was defeated in an election by the SLP, and Compton became Leader of the Opposition. The SLP government collapsed in October 1982, and the UWP won the subsequent election in November 1982; Compton became Prime Minister again. He also held the additional portfolio of Minister of Finance, Planning and Development. He remained in office until he retired in 1996; he was replaced by his chosen successor, Vaughan Lewis. Compton became a legal consultant.

In office, Compton's policies were conservative, pro-Western and anti-communist. He also worked for increased regional integration: upon leaving office in 1996, he voiced disappointment that the region's population remained a "divided people scattered over the Caribbean Sea".

After 1996

He was re-elected as the leader of UWP in 1998, however, he was replaced as leader by Morella Joseph in 2000. Compton then joined George Odlum to form the National Alliance, which did not have much success in the 2001 elections.

On 13 March 2005, the UWP elected Compton, then 80 years old, as its leader again at a party convention in Soufriere; he received 260 votes against 135 for Vaughan Lewis.

During the 2006 general election season, Compton parried media concerns about his age and campaigned actively, commenting that it was different from preparing to run in the Olympics. Despite opinion polls forecasting another term for the incumbent St Lucia Labour Party, Compton led the UWP to victory on 11 December 2006. He was elected to the seat from Micoud North over SLP candidate Silas Wilson. He was sworn in as Prime Minister on 15 December. His cabinet was sworn in on 19 December, with Compton as Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.

His immense popularity there was sustained through three generations so much so that when he returned to the fray for the very last time in the elections of 2006, after being 10 years and two elections away, he was bluntly told by supporters that he need not organize any major campaign. The result: Compton easily won the contest by more than 1,000 votes to become the representative of Micoud North for the very first time.

Compton as an Independent won his debut election contest in 1954 carrying away 51 percent of the total votes. But after the 1957 strike his personal popularity soared and in successive elections his share of the votes was often in excess of 90 percent.

In nearby Dennery, he was able to call the shots there as well as to who should run that constituency. But all that changed in 1979 when Compton's stranglehold on the eastern felt began to flag. In that year, --

Illness and death

On 1 May 2007, Compton was hospitalized in New York City after suffering a series of strokes. He fell ill while visiting a doctor for a normal checkup.

On 16 May, Sports Minister Leonard Montoute, who was also the deputy leader of the United Workers Party, announced that Compton was unable to stand or walk on his own, and that the cabinet was preparing to select a successor.

Compton returned to Saint Lucia on 19 May. He temporarily resumed power in early June to oversee a cabinet reshuffle, in which he remained Prime Minister but gave up the finance portfolio to Acting Prime Minister Stephenson King. King said on 8 June that Compton's condition was improving. On 11 July, he attended a meeting with several cabinet ministers, the first time he had done so since the strokes.

In late July, it was announced that Compton would resign by the end of 2007. On 26 August, Compton was admitted to the Tapion Hospital in Castries because he was having trouble breathing due to pneumonia. While there, it was learned that he had suffered another stroke while recovering from the previous strokes. On 1 September, he was flown to Martinique for treatment of his pneumonia. While there, his condition worsened and he was placed on a ventilator. On 4 September, doctors decided that his condition was hopeless; on 5 September, he was returned to the Tapion Hospital in Saint Lucia to die. He died there on 7 September 2007. Acting Prime Minister King declared two weeks of mourning, beginning on 8 September.

A state funeral was held for Compton in Castries, at the Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, on 18 September. Despite Compton's Anglican faith, the local Catholic church was used due to the large number of mourners and at the request of Sir John. The funeral services held in Micoud on 16 September and at the Minor Basilica on 18 September were in keeping with the requests of Sir John for his funeral service, including the hymns which were specifically requested by him. He was cremated on 19 September and his ashes spread in the Troumasse River at his estate in Mahaut upon his request.

The John Compton Dam in central Saint Lucia was renamed in his honor.

Personal life and family

In 1967 he married Janice Barbara Clarke the daughter of Saint Lucia's first Saint Lucian-born Governor, Sir Frederick Clarke. Out of this union, five children were born.

Compton's daughter Jeannine Compton-Antoine, a marine biologist, is director of the Saint Lucia National Trust, having previously followed her fathers footsteps into politics. In a by-election held on 26 November 2007, she won John Compton's constituency of Micoud North. Daughter Fiona Compton is a Caribbean historian, artist and photographer who graduated from London College of Printing in 2005 with a BA in photography. She has worked for different UK publishing houses. Daughter Nina Compton is a James Beard Award-winning chef in the U.S., and television personality. In 2013, she participated in season 11 of the American reality cooking show Top Chef, where she was the runner-up and was voted the "fan favorite".

References

[https://books.google.com/books?id=_H1pAwAAQBAJ&dq=Sir+John+George+Melvin+Compton+1925&pg=PA419 Profile of John Compton]
[http://www.pm.gov.lc/former_prime_ministers/john_g_m_compton/cv.htm CV] {{webarchive. link. (24 December 2007 at government website.)
Albert Brandford, [http://www.nationnews.com/story/289783887632118.php "People's servant to the end"] {{webarchive. link. (11 November 2007 , nationnews.com, 9 September 2007.)
[http://www.pm.gov.lc/former_prime_ministers/john_g_m_compton/biography.htm Biography] {{webarchive. link. (24 December 2007 at government website.)
link. (18 December 2007 , Saint Lucian government website.)
(8 September 2007). "John Compton, prime minister of St. Lucia, dies at 82".
(16 May 2022). "Caribbean Elections {{!}} Saint Lucia Leaders of the Opposition". Caribbean Elections.
(9 September 2007). "Sir John Compton".
"Freedom in the World 2002 - Saint Lucia".
"Saint Lucia Modern History – aGoodDir International Directory".
"Ex-prime minister regains leadership of St Lucian opposition", Caribbean Media Corporation (Bridgetown), 14 March 2005.
Donna Sealy, [http://www.nationnews.com/story/313630520175676.php "Pa Pa's journey"] {{webarchive. link. (27 September 2007, ''The Nation'' (Barbados), 15 December 2006.)
(15 December 2006). "Sir John Compton, father of St. Lucia's independence, sworn in as prime minister".
Rickey Singh, [https://archive.today/20070513102312/http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/html/20061211T000000-0500_116559_OBS_UPSET_IN_ST_LUCIA_.asp "Upset in St Lucia"], ''Jamaica Observer'', 12 December 2007.
Anselma Aimable, [http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/cgi-script/csArticles/articles/000048/004841.htm "St Lucia swears in new government ministers"] {{webarchive. link. (15 October 2007 , Caribbean Net News, 20 December 2006.)
Anselma Aimable, [http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-1579--20-20--.html "St Lucia PM remains in New York hospital after stroke"] {{webarchive. link. (11 October 2008 , Caribbean Net News, 18 May 2007.)
[http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20070516/carib/carib1.html "Compton suffered series of strokes"] {{webarchive. link. (24 May 2007 , ''The Jamaica Gleaner'', 16 May 2007.)
[http://www.stluciastar.com/NewsHome/LocalNews/tabid/571/newsid1152/2094/Default.aspx "Lady Janice speaks publicly about her husband"] {{webarchive. link. (29 September 2007 , ''St. Lucia Star'', 10 July 2007.)
[http://www.cbc.bb/content/view/10838/45/ "Sir John will no longer be Prime Minister"] {{webarchive. link. (24 May 2007 , Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation, 16 May 2007.)
[http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/05/21/news/CB-GEN-St.-Lucia-Premier.php "St. Lucia prime minister returns from U.S. following treatment for strokes"], Associated Press (''International Herald Tribune''), 21 May 2007.
Ernie Seon, [http://www.nationnews.com/story/375067931015624.php "Sir John shakes up Cabinet"] {{webarchive. link. (9 June 2007 , Nationnews.com, 7 June 2007.)
(March 2023)
[http://www.cbc.bb/content/view/11727/45/ "Sir John makes first public appearance"] {{webarchive. link. (27 September 2007 , cbc.bb, 11 July 2007.)
Rickey Singh, [http://www.nationnews.com/editorial/308373562152975.php "Our Caribbean – A hobbled government in St Lucia"] {{webarchive. link. (30 September 2007 , Nationnews.com, 10 August 2007.)
[http://www.cbc.bb/content/view/12408/45/ "Sir John flies to Martinique for medical aid"] {{webarchive. link. (27 September 2007 , cbc.bb, 1 September 2007.)
Kurt Reynolds, [http://www.stluciastar.com/NewsHome/LocalNews/tabid/571/newsid1152/2578/Default.aspx "Finally, Sir John's doctors speak!"]{{dead link. (April 2017)
(1 September 2007). "St Lucia's ailing prime minister flown to Martinique for medical treatment".
Anselma Aimable, [http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-3603--20-20--.html "Final farewell to Sir John Compton in St Lucia"]{{dead link. (April 2017)
[http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/09/19/news/CB-GEN-St-Lucia-Compton.php "High honors paid to late prime minister as St Lucia bids final farewell"], Associated Press (''International Herald Tribune''), 18 September 2007.
"Disaster Risk Management in Latin America and the Caribbean Region: GFDRR Country Notes St. Lucia". The World Bank.
"Daughter of St Lucia's former premier wins by-election", Caribbean Media Corporation (nl.newsbank.com), 27 November 2007.
"Fiona Compton".
Canavan, Hillary Dixler. (6 February 2014). "The Winner of Top Chef New Orleans Season 11".
"Caribbean Elections Biography | Sir John Compton".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::