Ebenezer Joshua

Ebenezer Theodore Joshua (23 May 1908 – 14 March 1991) was a Vincentian politician and the first chief minister of Saint Vincent from 1956 to 1967.

Joshua was born in Kingstown, Saint Vincent, British Windward Islands. As a young man in the 1920s, he went to work on the nearby island of Trinidad. There he became involved in trade unionism with Buzz Butler, and was an official of the Oilfields Workers' Trade Union from 1938 until 1950, when he tried unsuccessfully to be elected to the Trinidad legislature. Returning to Saint Vincent, Joshua entered politics in Saint Vincent, and was elected to the island's assembly in 1951. In 1952 he founded the People's Political Party (PPP). Joshua's PPP was a socialist political party whose initiatives included gaining political independence from the United Kingdom and improving working conditions and wages.

In 1956, upon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines gaining increased autonomy, Joshua became chief minister. His PPP saw continued success in subsequent elections. Joshua supported the unsuccessful Federation of the West Indies. In 1964 Joshua discontinued support for the sugar growers, closing the Saint Vincent Sugar Mill as a result of steady losses which had happened for several years.

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