PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten, Dec. 22, 2014, CNS – St. Maarten has a new government, led by Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs, who succeeds outgoing Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams.
In elections held on August 29, the United People’s Party won seven seats, one short of a majority in the 15-seat Parliament.
The election results also included four seats for William Marlin’s National Alliance, two seats for the Democratic Party and two seats for the United Sint Maarten Party.
Initially, St Maarten Governor EB Holiday requested that the Marlin form a government; that came to a halt when UPP leader Theo Heyliger announced that his UPP had formed a coalition agreement with MP Van Hugh C de Weever, leading Holiday to ask Heyliger to form St Maarten’s next government.
But while Heyliger soon presented Holiday with a list of candidate ministers, the Kingdom of the Netherlands’ Council of Ministers intervened into the screening process of Ministers, leading to a rejection of the move by St Maarten’s Parliament and a cooling of relations between St Maarten and the mainland.
But that was eventually resolved last week, following a vetting period, with the announcement of the country’s new Cabinet.
“We hold no illusions of the task before us. St Maarten is at a critical stage in its development and growth as a nation,” Gumbs said in his inaugural address. “Our mission is clear: To ensure that St Maarten thrives and grows, to stress on and maintain financial discipline, integrity and transparency in government and to build a nation of character where people live quality lives.”
See below for the full slate of Cabinet Ministers, who were officially sworn in on Friday.
Marcel Gumbs — Prime Minister (Minister of General Affairs)
Dennis Richardson — Minister of Justice
Martinus J Hassink — Minister of Finance
Rita Bourne-Gumbs — Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports
Claret Connor — Minister of Tourism Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication
Josiane Fleming-Artsen — Minister Plenipotentiary
