Arnhim Ulric Eustace (born 5 October 1944) is a Vincentian retired politician and

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

. He served as the

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and is the former longtime

leader of the opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

and former president of the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

(NDP) after resigning in 2016. Eustace was a Member of Parliament (MP) for the

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

of East Kingstown in the

House of Assembly of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines The House of Assembly of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is the unicameral legislature of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The Monarchy of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Vincentian monarch and the House of Assembly constitute the Parliament ...

from 1998 until his retirement in 2020. On 27 October 2000, Eustace, then a political neophyte, succeeded

James Fitz-Allen Mitchell Sir James Fitz-Allen Mitchell (15 May 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a Vincentian politician who served as the List of Prime Ministers of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, second Prime minister, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadine ...

as the leader of the NDP, and on 28 March 2001, the NDP was defeated in the 2001 general election. The party was reduced from 8 to 3 seats, producing a majority government for the Unity Labour Party. In the 7 December 2005 general elections, Eustace's NDP also won 3 seats. In the 13 December 2010 general election, Eustace's NDP saw an increase in the popular vote to 48.67%, winning 7 seats in a close election. The number required to form a majority in the

is 8, and the incumbent ULP formed government with a one-seat majority.

Education and early career

Arnhim Eustace is an alumnus of the St Vincent Boys' Grammar School. He attended Sir George William University in

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Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada, where he earned a BSc in

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

and a MSc in Development Economics from University of Windsor (now Concordia) in Ontario, Canada. At the age of 27, Eustace became the youngest permanent secretary in St. Vincent and the Grenadines when he was so assigned to the Ministry of Agriculture. His ascendancy was cut short when in 1976 he resigned from the civil service on a point of principle. For roughly one year after his departure he fished, literally, the waters off Edinboro, until Sir William Demas flew into St. Vincent to recruit the young economist into the

Caribbean Development Bank The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is a development bank that helps Caribbean countries finance social and economic programs in its member countries through loans, grants, and technical assistance. The CDB was established by an Agreement signed ...

. In 1977, Eustace and his family relocated to Barbados where, with the exception of roughly one year, they lived for the next 16 years, his full tour of duty with the CDB. There he rose from Administrative Officer through the ranks of the institution, ultimately becoming Director of Projects, third in the line of seniority at the regional institution, before repatriating to St. Vincent in 1993. In 1985 Eustace was for 18 months seconded by the CDB to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) which assigned him to the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to review and implement changes to the public finance system and to manage government finances as Director General of Finance and Planning. Upon his 1993 return to St. Vincent, Eustace was appointed Fiscal Adviser to the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. From 1993 to 1998 Eustace was chairman of WIBDECO as well as the Joint Venture Holding Companies in the UK. He headed the Windward Islands negotiating team for the acquisition of GEEST Bananas (including the GEEST shipping fleet) in a joint venture with Fyffes of Ireland. Eustace was chairman of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS). He was also the Government Director on the board of the East Caribbean Group of Companies (ECGC).

Parliamentary career

In 1998, he resigned from the public service and ran for political office, winning the East Kingstown parliamentary seat previously held by fellow party member Carlyle Dougan. Following the 1998 general elections, he was appointed Minister of Finance, Planning and the Public Service. Later that year he was offered the post of Deputy Secretary General of the British Commonwealth Secretariat in London, which he declined. In 2000, Eustace was elected leader of the New Democratic Party and upon the October 2000 retirement of Sir James Mitchell, was appointed prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines until the NDP's loss at the March 2001 General Elections. Eustace remained president of The New Democratic Party, and

from April 2001. In the following three general elections, the NDP representation rose from 3–12 to 7–8, within narrow reach of forming the government. In 2016, Eustace resigned as both

and President of the New Democratic Party after holding the two positions for 15 years. In 2020, Eustace retired from Parliament. In the 2020 election, NDP candidate Fitzgerald Bramble was elected as the new MP for East Kingstown.

Education and early career

Parliamentary career

References

Further reading