Oliver Seraphin 5632771 220839719 2008-06-21T21:28:44Z Cydebot 1215485 Robot - Moving category Politicians of Dominica to Dominica politicians per [[WP:CFD|CFD]] at [[Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2008 June 9]]. {{Infobox Officeholder | name =Oliver James Seraphin | nationality =Dominican | smallimage = | image = | caption = | term_start =June 25 | term_end =July 21 | predecessor =[[Patrick John]] | successor =[[Eugenia Charles]] | birth_date =August 2, 1943 | birth_place =[[Roseau]], Dominica | death_date = | death_place = | party = Democratic Labour Party | spouse = | profession = | religion = }} '''Oliver James "O. J." Seraphin''' (born [[August 2]], [[1943]], also '''Oliver James Seraphine''') was the [[List of Prime Ministers of Dominica|Prime Minister]] of [[Dominica]] from June 25, [[1979]], until July 21, [[1980]]. ==Early life== Seraphin grew up in [[Roseau]], the capital, and received primary and secondary education at [[Roseau Mixed School]] and [[Dominica Grammar School]]; later in life, he studied at the [[Carnegie Institute of Technology|Carnegie Institute]] in the [[United States]] and in [[Cuba]]. Prior to politics, he worked in the insurance industry.<ref name="lhc">{{cite web| url = http://www.lennoxhonychurch.com/heritage.cfm?Id=214| title = Seraphin, Oliver, James "O.J.":| accessdate = 2006-11-10| last = Honychurch| first = Lennox| date = | work = Lennox Honychurch's A-to-Z of Dominica's Heritage}}</ref> ==Time in John's government== He served in the socialist [[Dominica Labour Party]] government of Prime Minister [[Patrick John]]; John held the post for five years until he forced out by protests in 1979. Seraphin originally held the posts of Minister of Communications, Works, and Housing, but in a cabinet reshuffling, the Prime Minister made him Minister of Agriculture, Lands, Fisheries and [[Caribbean Community|Caricom]] Affairs.<ref name="lhc" /> During this time, the Commonwealth of Dominica received its independence from the [[United Kingdom]]. When violent crowds opposed to the John government protested outside the [[House of Assembly of Dominica|House of Assembly]], Seraphin resigned, and John did the same shortly afterward.<ref name="lhc" /> [[Image:David 1979 track.png|right|thumb|200px|The path of Hurricane David. Dominica is obscured by an orange dot]] ==Time as Prime Minister== Seraphin returned to government, in the position of Prime Minister, on June 25, upon request from the "Committee of National Salvation." [[Hurricane David]], which [[Hurricane_David#Dominica|hit]] Dominica in August 1979, killed 56 people, and devastated the island, would weaken his government, and he became preoccupied with rescue and rebuilding efforts. Seraphin traveled to [[Barbados]], [[Canada]], [[France]], the United States, and [[Venezuela]] to seek financial aid for rebuilding his county's infrastructure. He was succeeded by [[Eugenia Charles]], who would reign for the next 15 years, and hasn't returned to politics since. Her party, the [[Dominica Freedom Party]], defeated his, the Democratic Labour Party (which soon faded from the political scene), by a large margin in the 1980 election.<ref name="lhc"/> ==Life after politics== Seraphin's government is commonly referred to as the "Interim Government." Since leaving politics, he has returned to business, especially that which is [[tourism]]-related, and maintains a public profile.<ref name="lhc" /> ==References== <div class="references-small"><references/></div> {{start box}} {{succession box|title=[[List of Prime Ministers of Dominica |Prime Minister of Dominica]]|before=[[Patrick John]]|after=[[Eugenia Charles]]| years=June 25, 1979&mdash;July 21, 1980}} {{end box}} {{DominicaPMs}} {{Persondata |NAME=Seraphin, Oliver James |ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Seraphine, Oliver; O. J. Seraphin |SHORT DESCRIPTION=[[List of Prime Ministers of Dominica |Prime Minister of Dominica]] |DATE OF BIRTH=[[August 2]], [[1943]] |PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Roseau]], [[Dominica]] |DATE OF DEATH= |PLACE OF DEATH= }} {{DEFAULTSORT:Seraphin, Oliver}} [[Category:Prime Ministers of Dominica]] [[Category:Dominica politicians]] [[Category:1943 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[de:Oliver Seraphin]] [[pl:Oliver Seraphine]]