Robert Milton Cato (3 June 1915 – 10 February 1997) was a socialist Vincentian politician who served as the

first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and also held the offices Premier of Saint Vincent and Chief Minister of Saint Vincent before

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the st ...

. Cato was the leader of the

Saint Vincent Labour Party The Saint Vincent Labour Party was a social democratic political party in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines from 1955 to 1994. It was the ruling party from 1967 to 1972 and again from 1974 until 1984. History The party was established in 1955. Nohle ...

, and led the country through

in 1979.

Life and career

Robert Milton Cato was born in Saint Vincent,

British Windward Islands The British Windward Islands was an administrative grouping of British colonies in the Windward Islands of the West Indies, existing from 1833 until 31 December 1959 and consisting of the islands of Grenada, St Lucia, Saint Vincent, the Grenad ...

on 3 June 1915. He attended the St. Vincent Grammar School from 1928 to 1933. On leaving school, the young Cato was articled to a Barrister-at-law in Kingstown, and began his career in law and was called to the Bar, Middle Temple in 1948. In 1945, he joined the

First Canadian Army The First Canadian Army (french: 1reArmée canadienne) was a field army and a formation of the Canadian Army in World War II in which most Canadian elements serving in North-West Europe were assigned. It served on the Western Front from July 194 ...

, attained the rank of Sergeant and gave active service in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

in France, Belgium,

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

and Germany. Robert Milton Cato was married to Lucy-Ann Alexandra Cato. After returning to Saint Vincent, Cato became involved in politics. In 1955 he co-founded the

. Elected to the office of Chief Minister on 19 May 1967, as head of the St. Vincent Labour Party, Mr. Cato did much to improve the economic standing of the island. He was St. Vincent's first Premier on the island's entry to Statehood on 27 October 1969. Cato held the additional portfolio of

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...

. He was out of government during the period 1972 to 1974 following his party's defeat. Cato's Labour Party lost elections in 1972 and the opposition leader,

James Fitz-Allen Mitchell Sir James Fitz-Allen Mitchell (15 May 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a Vincentian politician who served as the second Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines from 1984 to 2000 and as the second Premier of Saint Vincent from 1972 to ...

became Premier. Cato's party and its coalition partners won elections in 1974, and he became the premier and minister of finance again. Robert Milton Cato led Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to complete independence from Britain on 27 October 1979, and is known as 'The Father of Independence'. He took the offices of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is n ...

and

. Mr. Cato the longtime representative of the West St. George Constituency, retired from active politics following his party's defeat in the 1984 general elections. He died on 10 February 1997 at the age of 81. His hope was for unity in Vincentian society and a brighter future for the people. The Kingstown General Hospital was renamed The Milton Cato Memorial Hospital in his honour in October 2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cato, Milton 1915 births 1997 deaths Prime Ministers of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Finance ministers of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Members of the House of Assembly of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines People from Saint Vincent (Antilles) Saint Vincent Labour Party politicians British Saint Vincent and the Grenadines people Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom

Life and career

Further reading

References