Patrick Roland John (7 January 1938 – 6 July 2021) was the first

Prime Minister of Dominica The prime minister of Dominica is the head of government in the Commonwealth of Dominica. Nominally, the position was created on November 3, 1978, when Dominica gained independence from the United Kingdom. Hitherto, the position existed de facto ...

as well as its last

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

. He led Dominica to

independence Independence is a condition of a 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 status of ...

from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He was leader of the

Waterfront and Allied Workers' Union Waterfront may refer to: *Waterfront (area), the dockland district of a town Music *Waterfront (band), a 1980s British pop duo *Waterfront Records, an Australian record label *Waterfront (song), "Waterfront" (song), a 1983 song by Simple Minds * ...

and mayor of

Roseau Roseau (Dominican Creole French, Dominican Creole: ''Wozo'') is the capital and largest city of Dominica, with a population of 14,725 as of 2011. It is a small and compact urban settlement, in the Saint George Parish, Dominica, Saint George Pa ...

before being elected to the legislature in 1970. He became Premier in 1974 following the resignation of Edward Oliver LeBlanc. After mass protest forced him to resign, John unsuccessfully attempted in 1981 to overthrow the government of Prime Minister

Eugenia Charles Dame Mary Eugenia Charles (15 May 1919 – 6 September 2005) was a Dominican politician who was Prime Minister of Dominica from 21 July 1980 until 14 June 1995. The first female lawyer in Dominica, she was Dominica's first, and to date only, fem ...

with the backing of

white supremacist White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...

groups (in what became dubbed "

Operation Red Dog Operation Red Dog was the code name of an April 27, 1981, military filibustering plot by Canadian and American citizens, largely affiliated with white supremacist and Ku Klux Klan groups, to overthrow the government of Dominica. They planned ...

"). As a result, he was jailed for twelve years, of which he served five years. On 6 July 2021, John died at the Dominica China Friendship Hospital in

, Dominica, at the age of 83.

Premiership (1974–1978)

John was elected to 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 ...

from Roseau North Electoral District / Roseau North Constituency from 1 November 1970. He was appointed Deputy Premier and

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

in 1973. After the resignation of Edward O. LeBlanc in 1974, John succeeded him as

Premier of Dominica Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

. The Labour Party administration led by John founded Dominica's National Commercial & Development Bank, and rid the capital city of Roseau of many shanty-type dwellings and replaced them with modern housing developments at Bath Estate and River Estate. John's government also opened a new deepwater harbour at Fond Cole and started the Dominica Social Security system. However, division grew in Dominica following the murder of a number of tourists in the mid-1970s and the emergence of a

black power Black power is a list of political slogans, political slogan and a name which is given to various associated ideologies which aim to achieve self-determination for black people. It is primarily, but not exclusively, used in the United States b ...

movement. John introduced legislation so broadly drawn that it even regulated acceptable modes of dress. Later, he indicated that revolutionary groups would not be tolerated. His reign as Premier and Prime Minister was regarded as one of the most tumultuous periods in Dominica's history. He was responsible for the infamous Prohibited and Undesirable Societies Act or " Dread Act", which was passed in 1974 and was meant to combat the lawlessness of countless Dominican youth. That act made it legal to arrest any "Dread" without a warrant and deny bail to anyone wearing "a badge of the society" i.e. dreadlocks.

Prime Ministership (1978–1979)

John became the first Prime Minister of Dominica on 3 November 1978 when the country was granted independence from Britain. John was the honorary commander of Dominica's 80-strong defense force and was in favor of a mixed economy. Internationally, he showed interest in development that saw the island's future linked with the West. One of his first acts after independence was to establish diplomatic relations with

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Crisis phase and resignation

Sentiment against the Labour Party government led by John continued to grow after the implementation of the Dread Act. On 29 May 1979, John's attempts to quell opposition to his leadership led to a clash outside parliament in which a young man named Phillip Timothy and another individual were killed, and a dozen others wounded. Resistance to his rule strengthened as public servants went on strike and the country was completely shut down. The Committee for National Salvation, led by Charles Savarin, called for a

general strike A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...

and the resignation of John and the government. One by one, Labour Party parliamentarians resigned their positions in the cabinet and they were often aided by a rain of stones from protesters. The first Labour Party minister to resign was

Oliver Seraphin Oliver James "O. J." Seraphin (or Seraphine; born 2 August 1943) is a former Dominican politician. He served as the Minister of communication and works and housing for the Labour Party government from 1975 to 1979 and acting List of heads of gov ...

who then went on to become interim Prime Minister until elections in July 1980. On June 11, 1979, President Frederick Degazon fled to Britain. John was voted out of office by the

on June 20, 1979, and the general strike ended the next day.

Later political life

John led the rump Labour Party in the 1980 general election, however, he lost his seat in the Dominica House of Assembly. Dominica Democratic Labour Party merged back to Labour Party in 1983, and

was elected party leader and John as his deputy. He was replaced as deputy party leader by Seraphin in 1985. John was elected again into the House of Assembly from St. Joseph constituency, from 1 July 1985 to 20 February 1986.

Coup attempt

In 1981 John was among seven individuals including former commander of the DDF Major Frederick Newton, who were arrested for alleged plots to overthrow the government. That year there were two attempted coups d'état. Disaffected Dominica Defense Force (DDF) members, aided by a group of Dreads (

Rastafarians Rastafari is an Abrahamic religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control of the movement and much ...

) near Giraudel, and foreign mercenaries sought to overthrow the duly elected Dominica Freedom Party government led by Prime Minister

Mary Eugenia Charles Dame Mary Eugenia Charles (15 May 1919 – 6 September 2005) was a Dominican politician who was Prime Minister of Dominica from 21 July 1980 until 14 June 1995. The first female lawyer in Dominica, she was Dominica's first, and to date only, fema ...

. The attempts at a coup d'état were discovered, thwarted, and the plotters both in Dominica and the United States were exposed. Under emergency powers, John and others were arrested in 1981 for their involvement in

, which had the aim of restoring John to power with the aid of

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

and American citizens, largely affiliated with

and

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

groups. In court cases which followed, the trial judge found that John was initially released, but the State appealed and the Court of Appeal ordered a new trial to take place. On October 23, 1985, John was found guilty and sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment for conspiring to overthrow the government. John was later pardoned by the same Prime Minister Mary Eugenia Charles he sought to overthrow, and he was released from prison on May 29, 1990.

Sports

Following his release from prison, John, formerly a member of the

Dominica national football team The Dominica national football team represents Dominica in international Association football, football and is controlled by the Dominica Football Association. They are a member of CONCACAF and a member of FIFA since 1995, Dominica has never q ...

, became a local football administrator. In 1992, he was elected

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

Dominica Football Association The Dominica Football Association is the governing body of football in Dominica. The Dominica national football team is the national team of Dominica and is controlled by the Dominica Football Association. The national league of Dominica is the ...

(DFA). Under his leadership the DFA became a

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

affiliate in 1994. He served as President until 2006, when he was voted out of office by the local football fraternity. In 2007, he was inducted into the

CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 4 ...

Hall of Fame. In May 2008, he was re-elected as President of the DFA. The DFA administrative headquarters is named "Patrick John Football House" in honour of him. In November 2011, John was banned by FIFA from the sport for two years and fined $3,300, for his part in an alleged bribery scheme involving FIFA presidential candidate

Mohamed bin Hammam Mohammed bin Hammam (; born 8 May 1949) is a Qatari former football administrator. He was president of the Asian Football Confederation from 2002 to 2011, and a member of FIFA's 24-man executive committee from 1996 to 2011. On 23 July 2011, B ...

References

External links

Tull: Tell us about coup rumours
NationNews, 4 October 2006