George Charles

Sir George Frederick Lawrence Charles (7 June 1916 – 26 June 2004) is a former trade unionist, politician, founder of the Saint Lucia Labour Party and Chief Minister of Saint Lucia (1 January 1960 – April 1964). He is a recipient of Saint Lucia's second-highest honour, the St. Lucia Cross (1987), and was knighted in 1988 by Queen Elizabeth II. George F. L. Charles Airport, in Castries, Saint Lucia, is named in his honour.

Born on 7 June 1916, George Charles had a privileged education at St. Mary’s College. But like many young West Indians of his time, he migrated to Aruba and worked there for a year with the Largo Oil and Transport Company. In Aruba, he was exposed to trade union activities and on his return to Saint Lucia, in 1945, he championed the cause of the workers at the Vigie Airport - now George F. L. Charles Airport - Renovation Project, where he was employed as a timekeeper. His solidarity on that occasion propelled him to the General Secretaryship of the Saint Lucia Workers Cooperative Union.

Sir George played an increasingly active role in trade unionism and by 1948 was elected to the Castries Town Board, as trade union representative. He stepped up the efforts to secure a more democratic mode of representation and in 1950, he and his father James Charles were among the key personalities involved in the organization of the Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP). The SLP immediately became the dominant force in Saint Lucia for over a decade. He and his party had a moderate socialist agenda, emphasizing workers' rights and more autonomy, or independence, for Saint Lucia - then an overseas colony of the United Kingdom.

In the 1951 General Elections, the first held under universal adult suffrage, the St. Lucia Labour Party under his leadership won five of the eight seats against the middle class-oriented Peoples Progressive Party. Sir George’s first resolution as an elected member was for legal recognition of the right to paid leave, which was rejected by the Colonial Authorities. The Labour Party was again victorious in 1954 general elections.

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