Kennedy Simmonds

Kennedy Alphonse Simmonds (born April 12, 1936 in Basseterre ) is a politician from St. Kitts and Nevis .

biography

Simmons, who was a founding member of the People's Action Movement (PAM) party in 1965, ran three unsuccessfully for a seat in the National Assembly. It was not until January 1979 that he was elected Member of Parliament in a by-election in the Central Basseterre constituency. The by-election became necessary due to the death of Prime Minister Robert Bradshaw . In the general election of February 18, 1980, he was able to defend his mandate.

After the election he succeeded in forming a coalition government made up of the PAM and the smaller Nevis Reform Party (NRP), and on February 21, 1980, he himself became prime minister. The coalition defeated the St. Kitts and Nevis Labor Party, which held power for 30 years and could provide all previous chief ministers and prime ministers. In St. Kitts , the coalition was in the minority, with the Labor Party winning 58 percent of the vote and four of the seven seats there. However, the two seats of the Nevis NRP gave the coalition a majority of one vote.

As Prime Minister, Simmonds gave his country full sovereignty from the United Kingdom on September 19, 1983, and became the first Prime Minister. The opposition , which claimed that Simmonds had no right to claim independence without holding new elections, also complained that the new constitution gave too much influence to Nevis, the smaller of the two islands. Simmonds replied that the draft constitution, which gave the Nevisians "autonomy over a number of their affairs", had been thoroughly discussed in advance in the country. Simmond's pro-economic government planned to reorganize agriculture, strengthen small industry and tourism, and sought more help from the US .

In the 1995 elections, the PAM lost its majority after a 15-year term in office. In the election, Prime Minister Simmonds also lost his mandate in the National Assembly and was replaced as Prime Minister on July 7, 1995 by Denzil Douglas , leader of the Labor Party.

Web links

• rulers.org