Watson Duke (born 1965) is a

Tobago Tobago, officially the Ward of Tobago, is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger islan ...

nian politician and

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

ist. He is the current president of the

Progressive Democratic Patriots The Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) is a political party in Trinidad and Tobago. Founded in 2016, it became the second-largest party in Tobagonian politics following the decline of the Tobago Organisation of the People. The party planned t ...

, a political party in

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

. Duke was born in Tobago and educated at the Scarborough Secondary School. He later attended the

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 18 English-speaking countries and territories in t ...

, where he received a bachelor's degree in

Industrial Relations Industrial relations or employment relations is the multidisciplinary academic field that studies the employment relationship; that is, the complex interrelations between employers and employees, labor union, labor/trade unions, employer organ ...

. After graduation, Duke worked as a teacher and later as a trade unionist, serving as the President of the Tobago branch of the

Public Services Association The Public Services Association of Trinidad and Tobago, is the largest trade union in Trinidad and Tobago representing public officers and workers from over 100 organizations nationally, both in the state sector and private sector. It was original ...

(PSA) from 2001 to 2015. His cousin is actor

Winston Duke Winston Duke (born 15 November 1986) is a Tobagonian actor. Duke was born in Tobago and moved to Brooklyn, New York (state), New York, United States, at age nine. Duke began his career with minor roles in theatre productions and recurring role ...

, famed for his role in ''

Black Panther A black panther is the Melanism, melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical Rosette (zoology), rosettes are al ...

''. In 2013, Duke founded the

Tobago Organization of the People The Tobago Organisation of the People (TOP) is an autonomist political party in Tobago formed in 2008. Its current political leader is Ashworth Jack. The party was formed in 2008 from a split with the Democratic Action Congress. The TOP contested ...

(TOP) and was elected as its leader. The TOP is a progressive political party that advocates for greater autonomy for Tobago as well as regional issues. In the 2015

Tobago House of Assembly elections Elections to the Tobago House of Assembly have taken place every 4–5 years since its establishment in 1980. There are twelve electoral districts, each electing one representative. The People's National Movement has been successful in all ...

, Duke was elected as a member of the Assembly, representing the electoral district of Tobago East. He was re-elected in the 2020

and currently serves as the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly. Duke has been a critic of the government's handling of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and has called for greater transparency and accountability in the management of public funds. In addition to his political career, Duke is also a businessman and owns several companies in Tobago. He is married and has three children. Watson Duke and the Tobago Organization of the People (TOP) have been advocates for greater

autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be ...

for Tobago and have aspirations for

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

. Duke has argued that Tobago, as a separate island with its own distinct culture and economy, should have more control over its own affairs and should not be dependent on the decisions of the government in Trinidad. TOP has called for a referendum on Tobago's political status, arguing that the island should have the right to determine its own future. Duke and the TOP believe that independence for Tobago would allow the island to fully realize its potential and to pursue its own development goals without interference from Trinidad.

References

1965 births Living people Members of the Tobago House of Assembly Progressive Democratic Patriots politicians {{Improve categories, date=June 2023