Kenny Anthony | |
---|---|
Prime Minister of Saint Lucia | |
In office 30 November 2011 – 7 June 2016 |
|
Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Governor General | Pearlette Louisy |
Preceded by | Stephenson King |
Succeeded by | Allen Chastanet |
In office 24 May 1997 – 15 December 2006 |
|
Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Governor General |
George Mallet Pearlette Louisy |
Preceded by | Vaughan Lewis |
Succeeded by | John Compton |
Personal details | |
Born |
Laborie, Saint Lucia |
8 January 1951
Political party | Labour Party |
Spouse(s) | Rosemarie Belle Antoine |
Alma mater |
University of the West Indies University of Birmingham |
Kenny Davis Anthony (born 8 January 1951) is a Saint Lucian politician who was Prime Minister of Saint Lucia from 1997 to 2006 and again from 2011 to 2016. As leader of the Saint Lucia Labour Party, he was Leader of the Opposition from 2006 to 2011 and returned to office as Prime Minister on 30 November 2011 following the 2011 election. He left office after the SLP's defeat in the 2016 election and announced his resignation as party leader.
Anthony is a graduate of the University of the West Indies and the University of Birmingham. In the Labour government that led the country from 1979 to 1982, Anthony was Special Advisor to the Ministry of Education and Culture from August 1979 to December 1980, then Minister of Education from December 1980 to March 1981. He was a member of the secretariat of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) from March 1995 until he was elected leader of the Labour Party.
He became Prime Minister on 24 May 1997, a day after the SLP won parliamentary elections. While Prime Minister, he was also the Minister of Finance and Broadcasting.
During his leadership and his party's reign, Anthony led St. Lucia to record development in tourism, infrastructure and general economic development. However, imbalances in the economic development, disenfranchisement and raising crime levels are challenges his administration had difficulty to tackle. Since he regained power in 2011 there has been an increase in the number of impoverish persons on the island. Together with much economic development came steady increases in violent crime at a rate higher than many neighbouring islands and that caused many to draw comparisons with Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.
Kenny D. Anthony is an Honorary Member of The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation