Frederick Eutrope Degazon (4 January 1913 – 4 October 2008) was a Dominican politician who served as the first President of the country from 1979 to 1980.

Biography

He was born in Castries,

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...

on 4 January 1913. Degazon went to college in Saint Lucia and studied law in the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. He practised law privately in Saint Lucia and Dominica from 1934 to 1940. In the 1940s he served as a civil servant in Dominica, Saint Lucia and

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

until his retirement in 1969. He was elected Speaker of the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible g ...

in 1977 and after declaration of independence in 1978, parliament elected Degazon as first President of Dominica, the post is largely ceremonial. In June 1979, during a constitutional crisis stirred by the desire for democratic socialist reforms, Degazon tried to leave the country and was eventually allowed to flee to England on 11 June. The House of Assembly initially elected as his replacement

Louis Cools-Lartigue Sir Louis Cools-Lartigue, OBE (18 January 1905 – 21 August 1993) was a Dominican politician. Biography Until 1955, Cools-Lartigue was the Chief Secretary of the Windward Islands, when on 9 May, he was issued a Commission by George F. Hols ...

, who resigned the next day, and he was then replaced by Jenner Armour. Degazon officially resigned in February 1980. He resided in London until his death there on 4 October 2008, at the age of 95.Probate: Degazon, Frederick Eutrope
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References

External links

*. 1913 births 2008 deaths Alumni of the University of London Dominica exiles Dominica people of Saint Lucian descent People from Castries Presidents of Dominica Speakers of the House of Assembly of Dominica {{Dominica-politician-stub