Earl Williams (politician)

Infobox_Politician
name = Earl Michael Williams


caption = Earl Michael Williams
birth_date = birth date and age|1964|2|28
birth_place = Southall, England
residence = Salisbury
death_date =
death_place =
office = 7th Leader of the Opposition
salary =
term_start = 16 July 2007
term_end = 30 July 2008
predecessor = Edison James
successor = Ronald Green
constituency_MP2 = Salisbury
majority2 = 440 (65.9%)
term_start2 = 28 May 1990
term_end2 =
predecessor2 =
successor2 = Incumbent
party = UWP
alma_mater = UWI
religion = Roman Catholic
spouse = Unmarried
children = Baggio Michael Williams, Eboni Michele Williams
website = www.uwp.dm
footnotes =

Earl Michael Williams (born February 28, 1964) is the former Leader of the Opposition in Dominica and former Political Leader of the United Workers' Party. He was educated at the Salisbury Government School and the Community High School. He completed his A-Levels at the Sixth Form College.

Williams then served as a teacher at various schools on the island and participated in sports as a coach and player. In addition, he was a member of the Young Freedom Movement, the youth arm of the Dominica Freedom Party which was important to the party's success. He was very active in his community, and he was rewarded for this when in the 1990 General Elections he was elected to Parliament for the Salisbury Constituency. By this time he was no longer associated with the Freedom Party and was now a member of the UWP.

The youngest ever parliamentarian on the island, he learned quickly and was a very vocal member of the opposition. In 1995 the UWP formed the government and Williams widened his margin of victory in the Salisbury (Barroui) Constituency, transforming it into a UWP stronghold. He was appointed Minister of Communications and Works. As a minister he was very instrumental in the liberalization of the telecoms market, which has had positive implications for the entire OECS.

In the January 31, 2000 General Elections Williams comfortably retained his seat. However, the UWP did not retain enough seats in the Parliament and they again returned to the opposition. Williams then decided that he would attend the University of the West Indies to study Law. This provoked some criticism from government supporters, but generally his constituents were not angered by his decision.

In May 5, 2005 Elections Williams again retained his seat by a wide margin, though his opponent did better than expected. The UWP put up a tough election campaign but they lost one seat in the parliament and remained in opposition. This second loss by the party evinced the need for a change of political leadership. Williams had become a very important member of the party, and he along with Julius Timothy were the main contenders for the leadership.

In October 2005, he was called to the bar and this enhanced his chances of becoming the political leader. In December 2005, Edison James stood down as political leader and Williams replaced him. His election alienated Julius Timothy, who as deputy leader under James thought he would have easily secured the leadership. This resulted in Timothy crossing the floor and joining the DLP government in September 2006.

A February 2-5 2007 poll conducted by Caribbean Development Research Services Inc (CADRES) found that only 6% of respondents favored Mr. Williams' leadership compared to 58% for Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit. 32% of respondents favored former United Workers' Party leader Edison James. [ [http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-679--31-31--.html "Dominica's prime minister leads popularity poll"] , Caribbean Net News, March 30, 2007.]

In July 2007 Edison James resigned as leader of the opposition and Williams assumed that office.

In July 2008 Williams, in his capacity as an attorney, became embroiled in a controvesy concerning the misplacement of a client's funds. [ [http://www.dominicanewsonline.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=1&twindow=&mad=&sdetail=717&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=2554&hn=dominicanewsonline&he=.com "Opposition Leader embroiled in land purchase controversy"] , Dominicanewsonline.com, July 23rd, 2008.]

On July 30th 2008, in light of the accusations against him, Williams announced his resignation as Leader of the Opposition and as Political Leader of the United Workers' Party. However, he stated that after consultation with his constituents, he was "duty bound to honour the wishes of the people of Salisbury constituency" and continue as their Member of Parliament. [ [http://www.dominicanewsonline.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=1&twindow=&mad=&sdetail=731&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=2554&hn=dominicanewsonline&he=.com "Opposition Leader Earl Williams resigns"] , Dominicanewsonline.com, July 30th 2008.] [ [http://www.caribbean360.com/News/Caribbean/Stories/2008/07/31/NEWS0000006130.html "Dominica's opposition leader quits amid controversy"] , caribbean360.com, July 31st 2008.] This came days after Williams led an opposition boycott of Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit's budget address to highlight allegations of corruption against Skerrit. [ [http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/07/11/ap5204239.html "Dominica's prime minister presents new budget"] , Associated Press, July 11 2008. ]

References

External links

* [http://www.uwp.dm]