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 Biography of Sir Allan Fitzgerald Laurent Louisy

Ministry of External Affairs, International Trade and Investment Saint Lucia Biography of Sir Allan Fitzgerald Laurent Louisy P.C., K.C.M.G., C.B.E., S.L.C., O.F.M.

Biography-Allan Louisy

Allan Fitzgerald Laurent Louisy son of Detcheparre and Jane Louisy was born in the village of Laborie, Saint Lucia, on September 5, 1916, one of eleven children.

He gained his early education from St. Mary’s College and on completion joined the Civil Service as a Clerk at the Education Department. Soon after that he resigned and took up employment as an Articled Clerk to the Honourable Garnet H. Gordon. He served five years in this position and in 1945 qualified as a Local Barrister under the Legal Practioners Ordinance. He entered the Honourable Society of Middle Temple - an Inn of Court in the United Kingdom where he successfully read for a degree in Law and in 1949 he was called to the Bar in both Saint Lucia and the United Kingdom.

Allan Louisy was a distinguished jurist; he practiced law for two years before he was appointed Registrar and Additional Magistrate of the Supreme Court of Saint Lucia. He served as a Senior Magistrate in Antigua, Barbuda and Anguilla in the early nineteen fifties and as a Crown Attorney and Legal Draftsman in Montserrat and Dominica. His legal career expanded to Jamaica, where he was Resident Magistrate, then Registrar of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal until 1964, when he took up a post on the bench of the Associated States Appeal Court.

His retirement as a Judge of the Appeal Court in 1973, ushered in the birth of his political career; he became a member of the then opposition St. Lucia Labour Party (SLP) that year.

In the May 1974 elections, he made his first attempt at a House of Assembly seat, running in his home village of Laborie. The SLP lost the general election, but Allan Louisy won his contest and was selected by his Party as Leader of the Opposition in the new Parliament.

On July 2, 1979, in the first post independence election, Allan Louisy led his St. Lucia to victory and became the second Prime Minister of Saint Lucia.

In 1980, Allan Louisy was appointed a Privy Councillor by Her Majesty the Queen with the title Right Honourable – the first individual in the History of Saint Lucia to be afforded that honour. His government though short lived, has been credited with the establishment of the National Commercial Bank and the Saint Lucia Development Bank.

He resigned as Prime Minister in 1981, but was appointed a Minister without portfolio and later Attorney General in the Winston Cenac administration. He did not seek re-election in 1982 and retired from politics soon thereafter. His retreat into private life did not limit his service to country and community. He went on to serve as Chairman of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), was appointed chairman of various committees of inquiry and sat as Director of the Saint Lucia Mortgage Finance.

In 1982 he was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (C.B.E) by Her Majesty the Queen and the Venezuelan O.F.M. award. In 1998 he was awarded the Saint Lucia Cross (S.L.C.) and on New Years Day 2005 he was awarded the Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (K.C.M.G.).

Sir Allan Fitzgerald Laurent Louisy P.C., K.C.M.G., C.B.E., S.L.C., O.F.M. although semi-retired generously contributed his legal expertise, time and resources through voluntary service to the people of Laborie.

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