Patrick John

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Patrick Roland John
1st
Edward LeBlanc
Personal details
Born(1938-01-07)7 January 1938
Roseau, Dominica
Died6 July 2021(2021-07-06) (aged 83)
Roseau, Dominica
Political partyDominica Labour Party
SpouseDesiree Johnson

Patrick Roland John (7 January 1938 – 6 July 2021) was the first

white supremacist groups (in what became dubbed "Operation Red Dog").[2]
As a result, he was jailed for twelve years, of which he served five years.

On 6 July 2021, John died at the Dominica China Friendship Hospital in Roseau, Dominica, at the age of 83.[3]

Premiership (1974–1978)

After the resignation of Edward O. LeBlanc in 1974, John succeeded him as Premier of Dominica. The Labour Party administration led by John founded Dominica's National Commercial & Development Bank, and rid the capital city of Roseau of many shanty-type dwellings and replaced them with modern housing developments at Bath Estate and River Estate. John's government also opened a new deepwater harbour at Fond Cole and started the Dominica Social Security system.[4]

However, division grew in Dominica following the murder of a number of tourists in the mid-1970s and the emergence of a black power movement. John introduced legislation so broadly drawn that it even regulated acceptable modes of dress. Later, he indicated that revolutionary groups would not be tolerated.[5][1] His reign as Premier and Prime Minister was regarded as one of the most tumultuous periods in Dominica's history. He was responsible for the infamous Prohibited and Undesirable Societies Act or "Dread Act", which was passed in 1974 and was meant to combat the lawlessness of countless Dominican youth.[6] That act made it legal to arrest any "Dread" without a warrant and deny bail to anyone wearing "a badge of the society" i.e. dreadlocks.[4]

Prime Ministership (1978–1979)

John became the first Prime Minister of Dominica on 3 November 1978 when the country was granted independence from Britain.[7]

John was the honorary commander of Dominica's 80-strong defense force and was in favor of a mixed economy. Internationally, he showed interest in development that saw the island's future linked with the West. One of his first acts after independence was to establish diplomatic relations with South Korea.[1]

Crisis phase and resignation

Sentiment against the Labour Party government led by John continued to grow after the implementation of the Dread Act. On 29 May 1979, John's attempts to quell opposition to his leadership led to a clash outside parliament in which a young man named Phillip Timothy and another individual were killed, and a dozen others wounded. Resistance to his rule strengthened as public servants went on strike and the country was completely shut down. The Committee for National Salvation, led by Charles Savarin, called for a general strike and the resignation of John and the government.[7]

One by one, Labour Party parliamentarians resigned their positions in the cabinet and they were often aided by a rain of stones from protesters. The first Labour Party minister to resign was Oliver Seraphin who then went on to become interim Prime Minister until elections in July 1980.[4] On June 11, 1979, President Frederick Degazon fled to Britain. John was voted out of office by the House of Assembly on June 20, 1979, and the general strike ended the next day.[7][1]

Coup attempt

John led the rump Labour Party in the

Rastafarians) near Giraudel, and foreign mercenaries sought to overthrow the duly elected Dominica Freedom Party government led by Prime Minister Mary Eugenia Charles. The attempts at a coup d'état were discovered, thwarted, and the plotters both in Dominica and the United States were exposed.[9]

Under emergency powers, John and others were arrested for their involvement in

white supremacist and Ku Klux Klan groups.[2] In court cases which followed, the trial judge found that John was initially released, but the State appealed and the Court of Appeal ordered a new trial to take place. On October 23, 1985, John was found guilty and sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment for conspiring to overthrow the government.[10] John was later pardoned by the same Prime Minister Mary Eugenia Charles he sought to overthrow, and he was released from prison on May 29, 1990.[7][1][4]

Sports

Following his release from prison, John, formerly a member of the

Mohamed bin Hammam.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Patrick Roland John". Caribbean Elections. Archived from the original on 2022-01-27. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  2. ^ a b "2 Guilty In New Orleans For Plot On Dominica Invasion". The New York Times. June 21, 1981.
  3. ^ "BREAKING: Dominica's first prime minister, Patrick John, dies". Dominica News Online. July 6, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d Christian, Gabriel J. (July 7, 2021). "The Rise & Fall of Patrick John". The Sun Dominica.
  5. ^ "Index J".
  6. ^ "The Prime Ministers of Dominica".
  7. ^ a b c d "Dominica (1978-present)". University of Central Arkansas.
  8. ^ "The Europa Year Book 1982 A World Survey Vol.-ii". 1982.
  9. ^ Phillips, Dion (2002). "The Defunct Dominica Defense Force and Two Attempted Coups on the Nature Island". Caribbean Studies. 30: 52–81.
  10. ^ "Former Dominica Prime Minister Convicted of Treason". AP News. October 24, 1985.
  11. ^ "John back at helm of football association", Antiguasun.com, May 27, 2008.
  12. ^ "FIFA bans former Dominica PM John, 5 more Caribbean officials in Bin Hammam bribery plot", The Washington Post, Associated Press, 18 November 2011, archived from the original on 17 January 2019, retrieved 19 November 2011.

External links

See also

Preceded by Premier of Dominica
July 28, 1974 to November 2, 1978 		Succeeded by
Himself as Prime Minister
Preceded by
Himself as Premier
 Prime Minister of Dominica
November 3, 1978 to June 21, 1979 		Succeeded by
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