Oliver Seraphin

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Oliver James ("OJ") Seraphin (born August 2, 1943 in Roseau ) is a Dominican businessman and politician . He was Prime Minister of his country from June 1979 to July 1980.

Life

Oliver Seraphin grew up as the son of a businessman in the Dominican capital Roseau. After graduating from Dominica Grammar School in his hometown, he studied economics for a few semesters in Cuba and the USA . After returning to his homeland, after a brief activity as an insurance agent, he began the extremely successful establishment of his own airline, Dominica Airways , which soon included three DC-6 freighters.

Beginnings of the political career

Oliver Seraphin's political career began - with the prospect of Dominica's independence in 1978 - in 1975 in the cabinet of Patrick John as Minister of Communications and Housing. A year later he became Minister of Economics. Seraphin distanced himself from the machinations of the John government, characterized by personal gain and corruption, and on June 2, 1979 declared his resignation from all government offices. This stance earned him the confidence of the Committee for National Salvation (CNS), which overthrew the John administration in June 1979. On June 21, 1979 Seraphin was sworn in as Prime Minister by Judge Winszey Bruno.

prime minister

Seraphin's term of office began literally stormy: Hurricane "David" devastated large parts of the island state on August 29, 1979, especially the south. The removal of the damage and the reconstruction cost the citizens and the government a great deal of effort. Seraphin took advantage of the misfortune by building long-term bilateral relationships in the context of requests for help from other countries. His “Aid for Dominica” trips have taken him to Canada, France, Venezuela, Barbados, the USA and other countries. What Seraphin underestimated in his zeal, however, was the fact that his foreign policy activities could be misinterpreted and that his frequent absence left room for political intrigue. The US aid after the hurricane and Seraphin's contacts with the young US ambassador Sally Shelton (* 1944) aroused the suspicion among some of his former colleagues that Seraphin had come under the influence of the USA.

During his term of office, the overthrow of the Persian Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi by the supporters of Ayatollah Khomeini . Seraphin negotiated - with the assistance of the CIA - an agreement to grant the Shah family entry and citizenship in return for payment to the Dominican state of 10,000 US dollars per passport and investments in the country's infrastructure. The background to the agreement was the fact that Dominican citizens are also citizens of the Commonwealth of Nations . This would have given the Shah access to all western states without them compromising politically against the new Iranian government.

The opposition leader and chairwoman of the Dominica Freedom Party, Eugenia Charles, informed employees of Seraphin's Dominica Labor Party about this closed-door deal . Eugenia Charles posted a message to the Washington Post on May 18, 1980, two months before the general election in Dominica, that Seraphin had put a large amount of money into his own pocket as a "fee" for helping the Shah family. The sheet printed the report just as unchecked as other newspapers reprinted it. Eugenia Charles and her Dominica Freedom Party won the election on July 20, 1980 with 51% of the vote, Seraphin and his Dominica Labor Party only got 19%.

Businessman

Disappointed and bitter, Seraphin then withdrew from politics and from then on devoted himself to setting up a department - "Floral Gardens" - in the interior of the country on the edge of the Indian reservation.

family

The avowed and practicing Christian Oliver Seraphin is married and has six children with his wife Lily.

literature

  • Gabriel J. Christian: In Times Crucial. Radical Politics in Dominica 1970–1980 . In: Irving W. André, Gabriel J. Christian: In search of Eden. Dominica, the travails of a Caribbean mini-state . Pond Casse Press, Upper Marlboro 1992, ISBN 0-9699857-5-4 , pp. 1-52.
  • Lennox Honychurch: The Dominica Story. A History of the Island. Macmillan, London 1995, ISBN 978-0-333-62776-1 .

Footnotes

  1. ^ Gabriel J. Christian: A Rain of Stones. The May 29th, 1979 Riot and Aftermath . In: Irving W. André, Gabriel J. Christian: In search of Eden. Dominica, the travails of a Caribbean mini-state . Pond Casse Press, Upper Marlboro 1992, pp. 119-150, here p. 138.
  2. ^ Gabriel J. Christian: A Rain of Stones. The May 29th, 1979 Riot and Aftermath . In: Irving W. André, Gabriel J. Christian: In search of Eden. Dominica, the travails of a Caribbean mini-state . Pond Casse Press, Upper Marlboro 1992, pp. 119-150, here pp. 145-146.
  3. ^ Gabriel J. Christian: In Times Crucial. Radical Politics in Dominica 1970-1980 . In: Irving W. André, Gabriel J. Christian: In search of Eden. Dominica, the travails of a Caribbean mini-state . Pond Casse Press, Upper Marlboro 1992, pp. 1-52, here p. 49.
  4. ^ Gabriel J. Christian: In Times Crucial. Radical Politics in Dominica 1970-1980 . In: Irving W. André, Gabriel J. Christian: In search of Eden. Dominica, the travails of a Caribbean mini-state . Pond Casse Press, Upper Marlboro 1992, pp. 1-52, here p. 50.
  5. ^ Gabriel J. Christian: In Times Crucial. Radical Politics in Dominica 1970-1980 . In: Irving W. André, Gabriel J. Christian: In search of Eden. Dominica, the travails of a Caribbean mini-state . Pond Casse Press, Upper Marlboro 1992, pp. 1-52, here p. 51.
personal data
SURNAME Seraphin, Oliver
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Seraphin, Oliver James; Seraphin, OJ; Seraphine, Oliver James
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dominican businessman and politician
DATE OF BIRTH August 2, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH Roseau