The first female head of state in the Caribbean, Dame Mary Eugenia Charles served as Prime Minister of Dominica from 1980 to 1995.
Mary Eugenia Charles was born on May 15, 1919 in Pointe Michel Village in southern Dominica. She was one of five children born to John Baptiste Charles, the founder of the Penney Bank in Dominica and Josephine Delauney. After completing her studies in Grenada and her native country, Charles enrolled at the University of Toronto to study law. Upon her return to Dominica, she became the first female lawyer on the island.
When the ruling Dominica Labour Party passed a sedition act in 1968 to limit dissent, Charles decided to enter the political arena by forming the Dominica Freedom Party. Two years later she was appointed to the legislature and in 1975, to the house assembly. Her party helped Dominica gain independence from Great Britain in 1978.
In 1980, Mary Eugenia Charles was elected prime minister and served three five-year terms, by far the longest administration on the island. As head of state she was very effective in bringing about economic reform and worked to end government corruption.
A savvy politician, Charles survived two early coup attempts and had one man hanged for treason. Because of her toughness, she was nicknamed the "Iron Lady" and was often compared with former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Charles was not afraid of taking controversial stances. One of those was her support of the US-backed military invasion of Grenada during the Reagan administration. A staunch anti-Communist, she encouraged the invasion as a means to thwart Cuban infiltration of the island. She also refused to accept scholarships offered by the government of Fidel Castro to Dominican students, stating, "I am not going to allow my students to study in Cuba where they will learn revolution."
In 1991, Charles was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II as Dame of the Order of Bath during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference in Harare, Zimbabwe.
In 1995, Charles retired from politics without naming a successor. Her party was soundly defeated in the elections that followed.
Late September 6, 2005 she died in a Martinique hospital while undergoing treatment for a dislocated hip. She was buried a week later in her hometown of Pointe Michel.
Miss Charles, who never married, lived with her father until he died in 1983 at the age of 107.
Mary Eugenia Charles was born on May 15, 1919 in Pointe Michel Village in southern Dominica. She was one of five children born to John Baptiste Charles, the founder of the Penney Bank in Dominica and Josephine Delauney. After completing her studies in Grenada and her native country, Charles enrolled at the University of Toronto to study law. Upon her return to Dominica, she became the first female lawyer on the island.
When the ruling Dominica Labour Party passed a sedition act in 1968 to limit dissent, Charles decided to enter the political arena by forming the Dominica Freedom Party. Two years later she was appointed to the legislature and in 1975, to the house assembly. Her party helped Dominica gain independence from Great Britain in 1978.
In 1980, Mary Eugenia Charles was elected prime minister and served three five-year terms, by far the longest administration on the island. As head of state she was very effective in bringing about economic reform and worked to end government corruption.
A savvy politician, Charles survived two early coup attempts and had one man hanged for treason. Because of her toughness, she was nicknamed the "Iron Lady" and was often compared with former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Charles was not afraid of taking controversial stances. One of those was her support of the US-backed military invasion of Grenada during the Reagan administration. A staunch anti-Communist, she encouraged the invasion as a means to thwart Cuban infiltration of the island. She also refused to accept scholarships offered by the government of Fidel Castro to Dominican students, stating, "I am not going to allow my students to study in Cuba where they will learn revolution."
In 1991, Charles was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II as Dame of the Order of Bath during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference in Harare, Zimbabwe.
In 1995, Charles retired from politics without naming a successor. Her party was soundly defeated in the elections that followed.
Late September 6, 2005 she died in a Martinique hospital while undergoing treatment for a dislocated hip. She was buried a week later in her hometown of Pointe Michel.
Miss Charles, who never married, lived with her father until he died in 1983 at the age of 107.
The first female head of state in the Caribbean, Dame Mary Eugenia Charles served as Prime Minister of Dominica from 1980 to 1995.
Mary Eugenia Charles was born on May 15, 1919 in Pointe Michel Village in southern Dominica. She was one of five children born to John Baptiste Charles, the founder of the Penney Bank in Dominica and Josephine Delauney. After completing her studies in Grenada and her native country, Charles enrolled at the University of Toronto to study law. Upon her return to Dominica, she became the first female lawyer on the island.
When the ruling Dominica Labour Party passed a sedition act in 1968 to limit dissent, Charles decided to enter the political arena by forming the Dominica Freedom Party. Two years later she was appointed to the legislature and in 1975, to the house assembly. Her party helped Dominica gain independence from Great Britain in 1978.
In 1980, Mary Eugenia Charles was elected prime minister and served three five-year terms, by far the longest administration on the island. As head of state she was very effective in bringing about economic reform and worked to end government corruption.
A savvy politician, Charles survived two early coup attempts and had one man hanged for treason. Because of her toughness, she was nicknamed the "Iron Lady" and was often compared with former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Charles was not afraid of taking controversial stances. One of those was her support of the US-backed military invasion of Grenada during the Reagan administration. A staunch anti-Communist, she encouraged the invasion as a means to thwart Cuban infiltration of the island. She also refused to accept scholarships offered by the government of Fidel Castro to Dominican students, stating, "I am not going to allow my students to study in Cuba where they will learn revolution."
In 1991, Charles was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II as Dame of the Order of Bath during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference in Harare, Zimbabwe.
In 1995, Charles retired from politics without naming a successor. Her party was soundly defeated in the elections that followed.
Late September 6, 2005 she died in a Martinique hospital while undergoing treatment for a dislocated hip. She was buried a week later in her hometown of Pointe Michel.
Miss Charles, who never married, lived with her father until he died in 1983 at the age of 107.
Mary Eugenia Charles was born on May 15, 1919 in Pointe Michel Village in southern Dominica. She was one of five children born to John Baptiste Charles, the founder of the Penney Bank in Dominica and Josephine Delauney. After completing her studies in Grenada and her native country, Charles enrolled at the University of Toronto to study law. Upon her return to Dominica, she became the first female lawyer on the island.
When the ruling Dominica Labour Party passed a sedition act in 1968 to limit dissent, Charles decided to enter the political arena by forming the Dominica Freedom Party. Two years later she was appointed to the legislature and in 1975, to the house assembly. Her party helped Dominica gain independence from Great Britain in 1978.
In 1980, Mary Eugenia Charles was elected prime minister and served three five-year terms, by far the longest administration on the island. As head of state she was very effective in bringing about economic reform and worked to end government corruption.
A savvy politician, Charles survived two early coup attempts and had one man hanged for treason. Because of her toughness, she was nicknamed the "Iron Lady" and was often compared with former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Charles was not afraid of taking controversial stances. One of those was her support of the US-backed military invasion of Grenada during the Reagan administration. A staunch anti-Communist, she encouraged the invasion as a means to thwart Cuban infiltration of the island. She also refused to accept scholarships offered by the government of Fidel Castro to Dominican students, stating, "I am not going to allow my students to study in Cuba where they will learn revolution."
In 1991, Charles was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II as Dame of the Order of Bath during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference in Harare, Zimbabwe.
In 1995, Charles retired from politics without naming a successor. Her party was soundly defeated in the elections that followed.
Late September 6, 2005 she died in a Martinique hospital while undergoing treatment for a dislocated hip. She was buried a week later in her hometown of Pointe Michel.
Miss Charles, who never married, lived with her father until he died in 1983 at the age of 107.
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