Louis Straker

Sir Louis Hilton Straker KCMG ( born February 23, 1944 in Layou, St. Andrew District, St. Vincent and the Grenadines) is a politician from St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Biography

After visiting the National Primary School Layou and the Emmanuel High School Kingstown, where he graduated with a Senior Cambridge Certificate, he worked for 18 months as a teacher at the State Primary School of Layou. He then studied Political Science at the City University of New York ( CUNY ) and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Political Science from. A subsequent post-graduate studies in business administration at the Long Iceland University, he finished with a Master of Arts ( MA in Business Administration). After graduation, he was between 1969 and 1994 employees of the Chemical Bank of New York.

Upon his return to St. Vincent, he began his political career in 1994 with the election of Members of Parliament ( House of Assembly ) as the candidate of United Labour Party (ULP ). As a representative of the constituency of Central Leeward he was re-elected at each general election in 1998, in March 2001 and in December 2005.

After the victory of the ULP in the elections in March 2001 he was appointed by Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves as Deputy Prime Minister on 1 April 2001. Between April 2001 and May 2005, he was also the first time Minister of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Commerce. In 2002 he took part in Johannesburg at the World Summit on Sustainable Development of the United Nations. He was one of the few government officials who openly expressed their disappointment over the outcome of the summit. He recalled the scene at the opening of the head of state meeting. A group of children had asked the governments to take decisions only, after which they could go with a clear conscience back home to their own children. Given the few concrete measures that were decided in Johannesburg to climate protection and poverty reduction, complained Straker, he had strong doubts "whether I can let me look again at my or these children ."

In a cabinet reshuffle, he was appointed in May 2005 to the Minister of Transport, Construction and Housing.

After the parliamentary elections, he was appointed again to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Commerce on 8 December 2005 by Prime Minister Gonsalves.

In this role, he is also a member of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations Office ( COFCOR ) of CARICOM and member of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly ACP. He was also the 2007 Chairman of the Council of Ministers of CARICOM.

For his services he was appointed by Queen Elizabeth II as Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in 2006 and henceforth bears the additional name sir.