Sir John George Melvin Compton, (29 April 1925 – 7 September 2007) was a Saint Lucian politician who became the first prime minister upon independence in February 1979. Having led Saint Lucia under British rule from 1964 to 1979, Compton served as prime minister three times: briefly in 1979, again from 1982 to 1996, and from 2006 until his death in 2007. He cofounded the conservative United Workers Party (UWP) in 1964; he led the party until 1996, again from 1998 to 2000, and again from 2005 to 2007.

Early life and education

Compton was born on 29 April 1925 in Canouan, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. In September 1939, he was taken to Saint Lucia. While studying law and economics, Compton attended the University College of Wales from 1948 to 1949 and the London School of Economics from 1949 to 1951; At the conference from April to May 1966 that led to this change, In 1968, he married Barbara Janice Clarke, with whom he would have five children. The SLP government collapsed in October 1982, and the UWP won the subsequent election in November 1982; Compton became Prime Minister again. He also held the additional portfolio of Minister of Finance, Planning and Development. He remained in office until he retired in 1996; he was replaced by his chosen successor, Vaughan Lewis. Compton became a legal consultant. however, he was replaced as leader by Morella Joseph in 2000. Compton then joined George Odlum to form the National Alliance,

During the 2006 general election season, Compton parried media concerns about his age and campaigned actively, commenting that it was different from preparing to run in the Olympics. Despite opinion polls forecasting another term for the incumbent St Lucia Labour Party, Compton led the UWP to victory on 11 December 2006. He was elected to the seat from Micoud North over SLP candidate Silas Wilson.

<!-- John Compton dug his political roots in the eastern sugar belt in 1954 and thanks to his involvement in the 1957 sugar strike, they remained planted there throughout a full half century.

His immense popularity there was sustained through three generations so much so that when he returned to the fray for the very last time in the elections of 2006, after being 10 years and two elections away, he was bluntly told by supporters that he need not organize any major campaign. The result: Compton easily won the contest by more than 1,000 votes to become the representative of Micoud North for the very first time.

Compton as an Independent won his debut election contest in 1954 carrying away 51 percent of the total votes. But after the 1957 strike his personal popularity soared and in successive elections his share of the votes was often in excess of 90 percent.

In nearby Dennery, he was able to call the shots there as well as to who should run that constituency. But all that changed in 1979 when Compton's stranglehold on the eastern felt began to flag. In that year, -->

Illness and death

On 1 May 2007, Compton was hospitalized in New York City after suffering a series of strokes. He fell ill while visiting a doctor for a normal checkup.

On 16 May, Sports Minister Leonard Montoute, who was also the deputy leader of the United Workers Party, announced that Compton was unable to stand or walk on his own, and that the cabinet was preparing to select a successor.

Compton returned to Saint Lucia on 19 May. He temporarily resumed power in early June to oversee a cabinet reshuffle, in which he remained Prime Minister but gave up the finance portfolio to Acting Prime Minister Stephenson King. King said on 8 June that Compton's condition was improving. On 11 July, he attended a meeting with several cabinet ministers, the first time he had done so since the strokes.

In late July, it was announced that Compton would resign by the end of 2007. On 26 August, Compton was admitted to the Tapion Hospital in Castries because he was having trouble breathing due to pneumonia. While there, it was learned that he had suffered another stroke while recovering from the previous strokes. On 1 September, he was flown to Martinique for treatment of his pneumonia. Despite Compton's Anglican faith, the local Catholic church was used due to the large number of mourners and at the request of Sir John. The funeral services held in Micoud on 16 September and at the Minor Basilica on 18 September were in keeping with the requests of Sir John for his funeral service, including the hymns which were specifically requested by him. He was cremated on 19 September and his ashes spread in the Troumasse River at his estate in Mahaut upon his request.

The John Compton Dam in central Saint Lucia was renamed in his honor.

Personal life and family

In 1967 he married Janice Barbara Clarke the daughter of Saint Lucia's first Saint Lucian-born Governor, Sir Frederick Clarke. Out of this union, five children were born.

Compton's daughter Jeannine Compton-Antoine, a marine biologist, is director of the Saint Lucia National Trust, having previously followed her fathers footsteps into politics. In a by-election held on 26 November 2007, she won John Compton's constituency of Micoud North. Daughter Fiona Compton is a Caribbean historian, artist and photographer who graduated from London College of Printing in 2005 with a BA in photography. She has worked for different UK publishing houses. Daughter Nina Compton is a James Beard Award-winning chef in the U.S., and television personality. In 2013, she participated in season 11 of the American reality cooking show Top Chef, where she was the runner-up and was voted the "fan favorite".

See also

  • Prime Minister of Saint Lucia
  • United Workers Party
  • John Compton Dam

References

  • Office of the Prime Minister of Saint Lucia
  • Obituary, The Guardian, 9 September 2007
  • Obituary, The Times, 10 September 2007
  • Biography available in Prime Ministers of Saint Lucia