Dame Mary Eugenia Charles

Who is Dame Mary Eugenia Charles?

Mary Eugenia Charles was born on 15 May 1919 in the fishing village of Pointe Michel, Dominica, the granddaughter of enslaved people whose father built a successful career as a fruit exporter and banker. She studied law at the University of Toronto and the London School of Economics, becoming the first woman in Dominica to practise law and a leading figure in the Dominica Bar Association. She entered politics in 1968 opposing a proposed Sedition Act, co-founded the Dominica Freedom Party in 1972, and became Leader of the Opposition in 1975. In 1980 she was elected Prime Minister of Dominica, becoming the first woman to serve as prime minister anywhere in the Caribbean and the first woman in the Americas elected in her own right as head of government. Her first term focused on rebuilding after Hurricane David; she also served as her own finance and foreign affairs minister. In 1983, as chair of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, she played a pivotal role in requesting the United States-led intervention in Grenada following the execution of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop. Known as the "Iron Lady of the Caribbean," she governed until 1995 and was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 1991. She died in 2005.

Sources: Britannica, "Eugenia Charles" biography · CARICOM, "Dame Mary Eugenia Charles" personalities profile · LSE, "Hon Dame Eugenia Charles" centenary profile