Ralph Gonsalves

Gonsalves, known affectionately as "Comrade Ralph", was born in Colonarie, Saint Vincent, British Windward Islands to his father, Alban Gonsalves, a farmer and small businessman (now deceased), and his mother, Theresa Francis, a small businesswoman. His ancestors came to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in 1845 as indentured servants from the Portuguese island of Madeira.^[4]

Gonsalves attended Colonarie Roman Catholic School, and later the St. Vincent Grammar School. He then enrolled at the University of the West Indies, where he completed a bachelor's degree in economics. He later returned there to earn a master's degree in government, which he completed in 1971. In 1974, he completed a doctorate in government at the University of Manchester. Gonsalves was called to the bar at Gray's Inn in London in 1981.^[8] He also attended Makerere University in Uganda according to his address at the United Nations during the Africa Day event on 25 May 2019.^{[citation needed]}

 

Gonsalves became involved in politics at university, as president of the University of West Indies' Guild of Undergraduates and Debating Society. In 1968, he led a student protest of the deportation of historian and intellectual Walter Rodney by the Jamaican government.^[9]

In 1994, Gonsalves became the deputy leader of the Unity Labour Party. After the resignation of Vincent Beache, Gonsalves became leader of the party in 1998.^[5] He was appointed leader of the opposition from December 1999 to January 2001.^[10] Gonsalves later led the Unity Labour Party to win the 2001 general election, becoming prime minister and Minister of Finance. His ULP was re-elected in the 2005 general election. In the 2010 general election, Gonsalves and the ULP were narrowly re-elected with 51.11% of the popular vote.^[11]

 

In 2009 Gonsalves and the ULP led a referendum campaign^[12] in favour of constitutional reform that would have abolished the country's constitutional monarchy, replacing Elizabeth II^[13] with a non-executive president. The referendum was defeated, with 55.64% of voters rejecting the changes.^[14] Gonsalves has persisted in his calls for the establishment of a presidency, proposing another referendum in 2022 to replace the monarchy while also voicing support to rename places in the country named after colonial figures such as Victoria Park.^[15]

In November 2017 Gonsalves gave up the portfolio of Minister of Finance to his son, Camillo Gonsalves.^[16]

On 3 July 2020, Gonsalves was elected Chairman of the Caribbean Community succeeding Mia Amor Mottley.^[9] His 6-month term ended on 1 January 2021, and he was succeeded by Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister, Keith Rowley.

In November 2020, Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines since 2001, made history by securing the fifth consecutive victory of his Unity Labour Party (ULP) in general election.^[17]

Gonsalves attended the coronation of Charles III at Westminster Abbey along with governor-general Susan Dougan on 6 May 2023. Gonsalves met with the King and other leaders of the Commonwealth the day prior.^[18]

Gonsalves supports capital punishment.^[19][20]

Gonsalves helped to organize a meeting in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines between Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Guyanese President Irfaan Ali to discuss the 2023 Guyana-Venezuela crisis between the two nations. Gonsalves called on Maduro and Ali "to de-escalate the situation" and engage in "appropriate dialogue". Also invited to the meeting was Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.^[21]

Gonsalves practices law before the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.^[4] He has written and published on a range of matters including the Caribbean, Africa, trade unionism, comparative political economy, and developmental issues generally.

Gonsalves has been married twice; currently he is married to Eloise Harris. He has two sons by his first marriage, Camillo and Adam; one son by his second wife, Storm; and two daughters, Isis and Soleil. Camillo followed his father into politics, and is currently serving as Minister of Finance.^[16]

On August 5, 2021, at a protest against mandatory vaccination from COVID-19 organized by trade unions representing nurses, police and other workers,^[22] Gonsalves was attacked with a projectile near the entrance to Parliament. He sustained visible injuries to his head in the attack. The attack occurred during a large protest against masks and vaccinations in the country.^[23] Gonsalves was rushed to the hospital where he was confirmed to be in a stable condition.^[24][25]

•   Argentina :
  •   Grand Cross of the Order of the Liberator General San Martín (8 October 2013)^[26]

•   Cuba :
  •   Order of José Marti (26 May 2022)^[27]

•   Japan :
  •   Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (23 August 2024)^[28]
•   Taiwan :
  •   Order of Brilliant Star with Special Grand Cordon (9 September 2003)^[29]

Books

• Diary of a Prime Minister: Ten days among Benedictine Monks
• The Making of 'the Comrade': The Political Journey of Ralph Gonsalves
• The spectre of imperialism: the case of the Caribbean (University of the West Indies; 128 pages, 1976)
• The non-capitalist path of development: Africa and the Caribbean (One Caribbean Publishers; 1981)
• History and the future: a Caribbean perspective (169 pages, 1994)
• Notes on some basic ideas in Marxism-Leninism (University of the West Indies; 56 pages)

Theses

• The role of labour in the political process of St. Vincent (1935–1970) (Master's Thesis, 1971)^[30]
• The politics of trade unions and industrial relations in Uganda (1950–1971) (Doctoral Thesis, 1974)^[31]

Pamphlets

• The Rodney affair and its aftermath (University of the West Indies; 21 pages, 1975)
• The development and class character of the bourgeois state: the case of St. Vincent (University of the West Indies; 15 pages, 1976)
• Controls and influences on the civil service and statutory bodies in the Commonwealth Caribbean: a preliminary discussion (University of the West Indies; 67 pages, 1977)
• The development of the labour movement in St. Vincent (37 pages, 1977)
• Who killed sugar in St. Vincent? (United Liberation Movement; 21 pages, 1977)
• On the political economy of Barbados (One Caribbean Publishers; 49 pages, 1981)
• The trade union movement in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (Movement for National Unity; 64 pages, 1983)
• Ebenezer Joshua: his ideology and style (Movement for National Unity; 39 pages, 1984)
• (editor) The trial of George McIntosh (Caribbean Diaspora Press; 80 pages, 1985)
• Authority in the police force: its uses and abuses (Movement for National Unity; 45 pages, 1986)
• Banana in trouble: its present and future (Movement for National Unity; 22 pages, 1989)