Eugenia Charles - wikipedia Eugenia Charles Dame Eugenia Charles DBE 2nd Prime Minister of Dominica In office 21 July 1980 -- 14 June 1995 President Aurelius Marie Clarence Seignoret Crispin Sorhaindo Preceded by Oliver Seraphin Succeeded by Edison James Personal details ( 1919 - 05 - 15 ) 15 May 1919 Pointe Michel, Dominica 6 September 2005 ( 2005 - 09 - 06 ) ( aged 86 ) Fort - de-France, Martinique Political party Freedom Party Alma mater University of Toronto London School of Economics Dame Mary Eugenia Charles, DBE ( 15 May 1919 -- 6 September 2005 ) was a Dominican politician who was Prime Minister of Dominica from 21 July 1980 until 14 June 1995. She was Dominica 's first, and to date only, female prime minister, as well as the nation 's longest - serving prime minister. She was the second female prime minister in the Caribbean after Lucina da Costa of the Netherlands Antilles, and the first woman elected in her own right as head of government in the Americas. She was the world 's third longest - serving female Prime Minister, behind Indira Gandhi of India and Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka, and the world 's longest continuously serving female Prime Minister ever. Charles was also Dominica 's first female lawyer. Contents 1 Personal life 2 Political career 3 Later years and death 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Personal life Daughter of John B. and Josephine ( née Delauney ) Charles, Charles was born in the fishing village of Pointe Michel in Saint Luke parish, to a `` coloured bourgeoise '' family. She attended Convent School in Dominica, then the island 's only girls ' secondary school, and became interested in law while working at the colonial magistrate 's court. She worked for many years as assistant to Alastair Forbes. She attended the University of Toronto in Canada, before moving to the United Kingdom to attend the London School of Economics. She was a member of the sorority Sigma Gamma Rho. She passed the bar and returned to Dominica, where she became the island 's first female lawyer, establishing a practice specialising in property law. Charles never married nor had children. In 1991 she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Political career Charles meets with American President Ronald Reagan in the White House 's Oval Office about ongoing events in Grenada Charles began campaigning in politics during the 1960s against restrictions on press freedom. She helped to found the Dominica Freedom Party ( DFP ), and was its leader from the early 1970s until 1995. She was elected to the House of Assembly in 1970 and became Opposition Leader in 1975. She continued serving after Dominica gained full independence from British rule in 1978. Charles became Prime Minister when the DFP swept the 1980 elections, the party 's first electoral victory. She took over from Oliver Seraphin, who had himself only taken over the year before after mass protests had forced the country 's first prime minister, Patrick John, to step down from office. She additionally served as Dominica 's Foreign Minister from 1980 to 1990, and also served as chairperson of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States ( OECS ). In 1981 she faced two attempted coups d'état. That year Frederick Newton, commander of the Military of Dominica, organised an attack on the police headquarters in Roseau, resulting in the death of a police officer. Newton and five other soldiers were found guilty in the attack and sentenced to death in 1983. The five accomplices sentences ' were later commuted to life in prison, but Newton was executed in 1986. In 1981, a group of Canadian and American mercenaries, mostly affiliated with white supremacist and Ku Klux Klan groups, planned a coup to restore former Prime Minister Patrick John to power. The attempt, which the conspirators codenamed Operation Red Dog, was thwarted by American federal agents in New Orleans, Louisiana, and was soon facetiously dubbed the `` Bayou of Pigs '' after the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion. Charles became more widely known to the outside world for her role in the lead - up to the United States Invasion of Grenada. In the wake of the arrest and execution of Grenadian Prime Minister Maurice Bishop, Charles, then serving as chair of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, appealed to the United States, Jamaica, and Barbados for intervention. She later appeared on television with U.S. president Ronald Reagan, supporting the invasion. Journalist Bob Woodward has detailed that millions of US dollars were paid to the Dominica Government by the US, some of which was regarded by the CIA as a ' payoff ' for Mrs. Charles 's support for the US intervention in Grenada. Charles and her party were considered conservative by Caribbean standards. However, many of her policies appeared centrist or even leftist by American standards ; for instance, she did support some social welfare programmes. Other issues that were important to her were anti-corruption measures and individual freedom. For her uncompromising stance on this and other issues, she became known as the `` Iron Lady of the Caribbean '' ( after the original `` Iron Lady '', Margaret Thatcher ). Later years and death Her popularity declined during her third term, and she announced her retirement in 1995. The DFP subsequently lost the 1995 elections. After retiring, she undertook speaking engagements in the United States and abroad, and became involved in former U.S. President Jimmy Carter 's Carter Center, which promotes human rights and observes elections. On 30 August 2005, Charles was taken to a hospital in Fort - de-France, Martinique, for hip - replacement surgery and died from a pulmonary embolism on 6 September at 86 years of age. See also First women lawyers around the world References Jump up ^ The International Who 's Who 2004. Psychology Press. 2003. p. 302. ISBN 9781857432176. ^ Jump up to : Pattullo, Polly ( 8 September 2005 ). `` Obituary : Dame Eugenia Charles ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 26 August 2009. ^ Jump up to : Goldman, Lawrence ( 2013 - 03 - 07 ). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2005 - 2008. OUP Oxford. p. 210. ISBN 9780199671540. Jump up ^ Current Biography Yearbook. H.W. Wilson Co. 1986 - 01 - 01. p. 89. Jump up ^ Henry, Steinberg ( 2014 - 01 - 16 ). Calypso Drift. 57 : Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 9781493154661. ^ Jump up to : `` Ex-Commander Hanged For Dominica Coup Role ''. The New York Times. Associated Press. 9 August 1986. Retrieved 26 August 2009. Jump up ^ Crask, Paul ( 2011 - 01 - 01 ). Dominica. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 15. ISBN 9781841623566. Jump up ^ Bob Woodward. Veil : the Secret Wars of the CIA 1981 - 1987, New York : Simon and Schuster, 1987, pp. 290, 300. ^ Jump up to : Company, Johnson Publishing ( 2005 - 10 - 10 ). Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. p. 17. Further reading Times - Eugenia - Charles / dp / 1450709737 Gabriel J. Christian, Mamo ! The Life & Times of Dame Mary Eugenia Charles ), Pont Casse Press, 2010. `` Memorial Mass for Dame Eugenia '', The Chronicle, 11 September 2009. Torild Skard ( 2014 ) ' Eugenia Charles ' `` Women of power - half a century of female presidents and prime ministers worldwide '' Bristol : Policy Press ISBN 978 - 1 - 44731 - 578 - 0 External links Caricom Biography `` MAMO : Profiling Eugenia Charles '', CaribNation interview with Gabriel J. Christian on YouTube. Political offices Preceded by Oliver Seraphin Prime Minister of Dominica 1980 -- 1995 Succeeded by Edison James Heads of government of Dominica Chief Ministers ( 1960 -- 1967 ) Baron LeBlanc Premiers ( 1967 -- 1978 ) LeBlanc John Prime Ministers ( 1978 -- ) John Seraphin E. Charles James Douglas P. Charles Riviere Skerrit Acting officeholders shown in italics VIAF : 263799718 LCCN : n84038739 ISNI : 0000 0000 2657 1435 SUDOC : 091965683 IATH : w6vz5mch Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eugenia_Charles&oldid=810915077 '' Categories : 1919 births 2005 deaths 20th - century women politicians Alumni of the London School of Economics Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Deaths from pulmonary embolism Dominica Freedom Party politicians Dominica lawyers Dominica people of African descent Dominica women in politics Female foreign ministers Female heads of government Members of the House of Assembly of Dominica People from Saint Luke Parish, Dominica Prime Ministers of Dominica University of Toronto alumni Women prime ministers Hidden categories : All articles that may contain original research Articles that may contain original research from April 2017 Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with SNAC - ID identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Français 한국어 Italiano עברית Nederlands 日本 語 Polski Русский Simple English Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Svenska Українська Edit links This page was last edited on 18 November 2017, at 08 : 06. 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Question: who was the second female prime minister of a caribbean country
Answer: Dame Mary Eugenia Charles, DBE