Edison James
| Edison Chenfil James | |
|---|---|
| 4th Prime Minister of Dominica | |
|
In office June 14, 1995 – February 3, 2000 |
|
| Preceded by | Eugenia Charles |
| Succeeded by | Roosevelt Douglas |
| Member of Parliament for Marigot |
|
|
Assumed office 28 May 1990 |
|
| Majority | 825 (65.6%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 18, 1943 Marigot, Dominica |
| Political party | United Workers' Party |
| Religion | Methodist |
Edison Chenfil James (born October 18, 1943 in Marigot) was the prime minister of Dominica from June 14, 1995 to February 3, 2000 as well as the Member of Parliament for the Marigot constituency from 1990. He graduated from the Dominica Grammar School. He holds a Bsc degree in Botany from the University of East London, a MSc degree in Biochemistry from the University of Reading and a post graduate diploma in crop protection technology from Imperial College. He worked in a number of local and regional institutions including the Caribbean Development Bank, but it was as manager of the Dominica Banana Marketing Company that he rose to prominence on the island. He was instrumental in resuscitating the island's critical banana industry which had been decimated by Hurricane David. James has been active in regional cricket as an administrator; he was Manager of the Windward Islands cricket team and the Combined Islands cricket team. He is also a member of the Rotary Club.
In 1988 he headed a committee which founded the United Workers' Party and became its first political leader. From its inception the party was assailed as a group of "disgruntled businessmen"; or "greedy businessmen" by the established parties, but in 1990 the party captured 6 seats in the 21 seat House of Assembly and James became the leader of the opposition. As leader of the opposition, he criticized the ruling Dominica Freedom Party for instituting an economic-citizen programme whereby persons could become citizens of the island for a fee. In the run-up to the 1995 elections, James accused the Eugenia Charles-led government of bugging his party's offices. A commission formed to investigate the matter concluded that the allegations were baseless.
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