Office of the Governor General

Sir Emmanuel Neville Cenac

Curriculum Vitae of Sir Emmanuel Neville Cenac

     A.         Civil Status

  1. Place and Date of Birth: Castries, Saint Lucia; 24th November, 1939
  2. Religion: Roman Catholic
  3. Married: Julita Du Boulay of Soufriere, Saint Lucia
  4. Five children, three of whom are Attorneys-at-law, namely, Cybelle, Sardia, Seryozha; Winston is in Hotel Management in London, and Suzette is in business in Martinique

 

B.        Educational Background

  1. St. Aloysius R.C. Boys’ Primary School: 1947-1952
  2. St. Mary’s College: 1953-1958 (Vestry Scholarship Awardee)
  3. Graduated with Cambridge School Certificate
  4. Cambridge G.C.E. "A" Levels (via correspondence) in (i) French Literature, (ii) British Constitution and (iii) A Level Law
  1. The following “special subjects” (via correspondence at “A” Level, were read but exams were not taken:
  2. Social and Economic History  of Great Britain: 1485 to 1955
  3. English History: 1485 to 1603
  4. European History for the corresponding  period, 1485 to 1603
  5. In 1978, was accepted by the University of London to read for the LL.B as an external student but entry into political life militated against its completion

 

      C.      Languages

  1. English
  2. French Creole (Fluent)
  3. French (Fairly fluent)
  4. Latin (Proficient)

 

      D.       Public Service:

  1. Clerk (Class III), Audit Department: 1958-1960
  2. Clerk (Class II), Customs and Excise: 1960-1961 (on promotion)
  3. Clerk (Class II), Audit Department: 1961 (recalled to Audit at the request of Head of Audit)
  4. Clerk (Class I), Audit Department, 1963
  5. Acted as Examiner of Accounts: 1965
  6. Paymaster, Treasury Department: 1965- 1967
  7. Clerk, Registry of the High Court: 1967- 1968

 

      E.       Honorary Service in the Public Service

  1. General Secretary of the Civil Service Association (CSA): 1961 – 1967, (unanimously elected on each occasion)
  2. Secretary of the Supervisory Committee of the Civil Service Credit Union (from its inception)

 

       F.       Other Positions Held Outside the Public Service

  1. Legal Executive in the Chambers of Cenac and Edwards: 1970-1975 and 1980-1982
  2. Manager of Radio St. Lucia: 1980-1982
  3. Mayor of the City of Castries, 1981-1982

 

       G.       Political Association

  1. Resigned from the Civil Service in 1968 because of “political interference” by premiere Compton, vowing to “keep a vigilant watch on the way in which my country is being run”, in my letter of resignation to the Chairman of the Public Service Commission, Mr. Francis Carasco
  2. Joined the St. Lucia Labour Party in 1968, led by Lawyer Kenneth Foster, and kept faith with my vow of vigilance throughout
  3. Dissatisfied with its modus operandi, not its policies, left the St. Lucia Labour Party, in 1972 and formed the St. Lucia Labour Action Movement (SLAM) with members of the defunct Forum, headed by George Odlum and Hilford Deterville (other non-Forum members being, inter alia, Julian Hunte, Thomas Walcott and Thomas James).  My reason for leaving the party was because the leader, Kenneth Foster, at my request, had agreed to support Judge Allan Louisy as leader, but when a meeting of the Executive was held at his office for that purpose, with Judge Louisy present, he changed his mind. (SLAM adopted the same Constitution of the St.Lucia Labour Party, and I insisted that the word “Labour” be part of the party’s name, as no third part was able to bear the combined onslaught of Labour and the UWP)
  4. In 1974, Judge Louisy, then an acting Judge of the Court of Appeal retired and made his first speech at a public meeting on the Market Steps. Present were, Kenneth Foster (Political Leader), Whitney Mauricette (Chairman), George Murray (General Secretary), other members of the Executive and myself, and the crème de le crème of  SLAM, headed by George Odlum, Julian Hunte excluded. From that night, SLAM ceased to exist
  5. Judge Louisy’s decision to join as an ordinary member came after a meeting with me in Laborie and in Grenada
  6. While I was Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Party from 1982, caused the rules of the 1951 Party to be changed in 1984, and nominated Julian Hunte as my replacement. His several attempts, soon  after, to get rid of  me (his benefactor), because of a Senate position that was not forthcoming, left me no other choice, in 1987 but to seek refuge in Compton’s U.W.P Camp, which, 20 years earlier I had vowed to set fire to, as it were. (Sometimes to do a wrong thing to put an end to mischief becomes a sacred right and an imperative duty.  The words of the Public Relations Officer, “Let him go! Who needs him!” have never ceased to ring in my ears after I walked out of the 1986 convention of the party held in Dennery

            

      H.       Political Service: Local Government

  1. Elected Councillor of the nine member Castries City Council: 1970-1971 (the lone Labour Opposition Member)
  2. Re-elected Councillor of the Castries City Corporation: 1971-1974 (the lone Opposition Member)
  3. Mayor of the City of Castries: 1981-1982 (by Cabinet appointment)
  4. Resigned as Mayor upon becoming Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the St. Lucia Labour Party in 1982
  5. Director of St. Lucia Electricity Services: 1981- 1982 (ex-officio)

 

      I.      Political Service: Central Government

  1. Elected on a Labour ticket to the House of Assembly as the Representative for Laborie: 1982-1987. (Compton’s U.W.P. won 14 seats, Labour 2 and Odlum’s PLP,1), again almost the lone Labour opposition member
  2. Leader of the Opposition: 1982-1987
  3. Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee: 1982-1987
  4. Minister for Foreign Affairs: 1987-1992, after taking refuge in the Compton U.W.P Coup. (He whom I had come to fight, I ended having to pray with)
  5. U.W.P Senator: 1992-1993
  6. President of the Senate: 1993-1997

       

      J.     Regional Contribution

  1. Head of Saint Lucia Delegation on Windward Island Unity: 1989-1992
  2. Head of CARICOM Delegation that restored democracy to Haiti in  1991, under Père Bertrand Aristide
  3. By virtue of a Memorandum to Cabinet in 1990, caused the O.E.C.S to suspend diplomatic relations with North Korea for reprehensible, criminal conduct against South Korea and the democratic world
  4. Based on statistics gathered, strongly supported the right of whale-eating countries like Japan and Norway to harvest a certain annual quota, as there would have been no depletion in the whale population, (a highly controversial issue in the UN and among environmentalists)
  5. In support of intervention against the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq in August, 1990, in September, 1990, made the strongest statement in the U. N.  in favour of  intervention, by the use of the words, “by any means”
  6. The release of the great Nelson Mandella from prison to head the Government of South Africa in 1990, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the crumblilng of the Soviet Union, were all achieved through concerted hammering by the democratic world, which included Caricom Foreign Ministers.  To this day, the Foreign Policy of St. Lucia has remained constant, guided by concepts of democracy, the rule of law and human rights, never by a “scratch my back I scratch yours” approach.  That policy was fully adumbrated and cast in stone by Prime Minister Compton and me, between 1982 and 1992, and remains as cast

 

  1.     Recent Articles Published
  1. Respectfully, Your Ejusdem Generis is Useless, Dr. John (The Star of 13th August 2016): Re: Deputy Speaker
  1. Ah! Section 36 (1) is Essential : Re: Appointment of Deputy Speaker (The Star of July, 2016)
  1. That Recurrent Stupidity (Voice of St. Lucia and The Star of 30th July 2016
  1. Oh Dear, What a fall was there! Labour’s defeat on 6/6/16 : The Star of 11th July 2016
  1. Proposals for a New Constitution published in two parts in The Voice St. Lucia on 30th April, 2016 and 7th May, 2016
  1. The IMPACS Report: Diplomatic, Not Legal Solution Needed (Voice of St. Lucia of  5th December 2015)
  1. Is it our Constitution or Men who Need Remodelling?  (Voice of St. Lucia of 31st October 2015
  1. Beaches – An Un-bequeathable Inheritance (Voice of St. Lucia of 12th December 2014)
  1. Can St. Lucia Live By Bread Alone? (Voice of St. Lucia of 29th November, 2014)
  2. Our Pope Francis is a Chef D’oeuvre (Catholic Chronicle of Jan13, 2014)
  3. Banks: the Quiddity of Liquidity
  1. Are Atheists God’s?(The Star of  30th May, 2015)
  1. Of Parliamentary Budgets, May 2013

 

L.   Commendations from Prime Ministers, Ministers and Others

  1. “I known Neville Cenac as a student of this school from 1953 - 1958.  He was quiet, pleasant and cooperative in manner and was a very good student”: Rev. Bro. Ignatius  Flahiv, Headmaster of St. Mary’s College
  1. “You have spoken better than the President of the United States” (Bill Turner of Texas, after my first speech on the Market Steps in 1968)
  1. “Many a Labour supporter have rushed to the Market steps to listen to  the unique performance of young Neville Cenac”, (George Odlum in the 1974 Manifesto of the St. Lucia Labour Party”)
  1. “I have given you all a man better than myself, “(John Compton to an influential lobbyist in Washington in 1987).  When asked why he had given me the portfolio of Minister for Foreign Affairs to me
  1.  “It is you who inspire me”: (Prime Minister, Dr. Kenny D. Anthony to me in 2004)
  1. “Your father was a politician par excellence. He was loved by the people, but I was respected. He deserves all good things”. (Dr. Velon John, was one of my severest critics.  He replaced me as the representative of Laborie). (Thank you, Velon, you have purged yourself.  May God bless you)
  1. “Mr. Cenac, I now understand”. (Dr. Robert Lewis, the labour Minister for Education,  after reading my article  on why I was bound to cross the floor, entitled,  “The Foretaste”
  1. “Neville, you are the only one who has defended me” (Archbishop Kelvin Felix (now Cardinal Felix) to me regarding criticisms in the press that he had misappropriated the one million dollars contributed by past students of  St. Mary’s College to do work needed to be done on the College (Voice of St. Lucia)

 

  1.     Honours and Awards
  1. Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Lucia (GCSL): 2018
  2. Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (GCMG): 2018
  3. Award in 2005 in recognition of service as General-Secretary of the Civil Service Association (C.S.A.)

 

       N.      Finally

  1. In my book,  now  ripe for publication, entitled, “ The Politics of  Snakes and Ladders”,  readers will  be surprised  to find  that,  single- handedly,  and from 1974 to this day, I have been responsible for the making  of almost every Political Leader, Prime Minister, Minister, Leader of the Opposition, or Parliamentarian of the Labour Party, and was wholly responsible even for the return of  the octogenarian, John Compton of the U.W.P as Prime Minister in 2006, including  those who have succeeded him
  1.  But for members of my family, virtually everything set-out here would be new, not being a trumpeter of my own virtues.  There is evidence to substantiate whatever needs to be substantiated
  1. Further: in the book, one will see that I brought something valuable to every office held, and, in many cases, saved tax-payers millions of dollars, whether in foreign exchange tax, electricity consumption or otherwise   Though I laid the red carpet for everyone who became important, I remained in the shadows and would have been content, there to remain, had I not been betrayed, for my 1968 mission was, “to keep a vigilant watch on the way in which my country is being run”.  That mission has become even more sacred, as Governor-General, the fountain of equity, the conscience of the State. 

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