Sir John Compton was born in Canounan, the Grenadines, but as a child he spent a great deal of time in Saint Lucia particularly in the Micoud and Dennery areas. By the age of 13 he began to reside permanently in Saint Lucia. In 1951 he returned to Saint Lucia after successfully completing his studies in Law and Economics. He was a Lawyer by profession.
Immediately upon his return he got involved in politics and ran as an independent representing the constituency of Micoud/Dennery in 1954. He subsequently became a member of the St. Lucia Labour Party (SLP) and continued representing that constituency. However, in 1961 he resigned from the SLP government and formed the National Labour Movement (NLM) with two elected former SLP members in the persons of Mr. Maurice Mason and Dr. Vincent Monrose. The other opposition Party was the People’s Progressive Party (PPP). In 1964 he formed the United Workers Party (UWP) through the amalgamation of the NLM and the PPP. The resignation of two other members from the SLP Government to become Independent Labours resulted in the toppling of the SLP government causing the premature calling of general elections in June 1964.
Sir John’s UWP won six of the ten constituencies, and the two successful Independent candidates joined the UWP resulting in a UWP government commanding eight of the ten seats within the legislature. The UWP remained in power for 30 unbroken years under the leadership of Sir John Compton. That break came in 1979 when the Party lost to the SLP, however after a tumultuous two years in government, the SLP lost its grip on the government and the UWP again regained control in 1982. The UWP remined in power until 1997 after Compton relinquished control as Prime Minister.
He was back as Prime Minister in 2006, however he died in 2007.
Sir John (who was knighted by the Queen in 1997) can be credited with being the longest serving Prime Minister of Saint Lucia. It cannot be disputed that the political life of Sir John translated to the history of the development of Saint Lucia. All major developments in road construction, Health, Education, Social Services, Tourism, Housing, Agriculture, water supply, electricity supply can be credited to the vision of Sir John Compton.
He was greatly loved by his constituents, firstly of Micoud/Dennery and then of Micoud/Praslin. He was elected in successive general elections without any problem. According to him, the only general elections he had to fight was that of 1954. He was so loved that it was not necessary for him to spend time campaigning. His philosophy was to help the cause that needs assistance and to fight the wrong that needs resistance. According to him “Having fought the wrong that needs resistance, I was given the opportunity to help the cause that needs assistance.”
Photo Credits: The Star Newspaper, National Archives of Singapore, Wikipedia