Ernie Seon, Contributor CASTRIES, St. Lucia (CMC):

When he led his United Workers' Party (UWP) back into the corridors of power in December last year after a 10-year absence, Sir John Compton made it clear that he was not there for a "marathon".

He was right. Having overcome criticism from his political opponents about his age and his ability to lead the country into a new global environment, Sir John let it be known that his age should not be a factor for good leadership and governance, insisting that the country would benefit from the experience he had garnered over the years.

"Age is not a factor here, I am not here running for the Olympics. Age is really a state of mind; I am giving my experience and my intelligence that God gave to me. I am not going for a marathon, I am not going for the Olympics," Sir John toldthe Caribbean Media Corporation shortly after his victory on December 11.

father of the Nation

Now, nine months later, Sir John's death brings to an end an era in Caribbean politics that saw the likes of Eric Williams in Trinidad and Tobago, Vere Bird in Antigua and Barbuda, the Manleys in Jamaica, as well as Errol Barrow of Barbados. Like all these other great Caribbean politicians and statesmen, Sir John is fondly remembered as the 'Father of the Nation'.

Sir John, 82, died at the Tapion Hospital, a private medical facility overlooking the calm pristine waters of Castries Harbour, at around 6.50 Friday evening, ending a protracted period of illness which began four months after being elected to head a government in St. Lucia for the eighth time.

Acting Prime Minister Stephenson King, in a brief statement issued on Wednesday, had prepared the nation for the inevitable when he said that Sir John, who a few days earlier had been flown to the French island of Martinique for medical treatment, had suffered "multiple organ failure and was not expected to recover from this latest bout of illness".

Sir John's death widely anticipated, has thrown the country into a state of mourning, with several persons weeping openly at the official news.

masterful political career

The longest-serving regional leader, Sir John had carved out a masterful career in politics since 1954. He was born on the St. Vincent and the Grenadines island of Canouan, on August 25, 1925, but he grew up in St. Lucia under the guidance of his mother, Ethel, and his uncle, a rugged, but humane sea captain and boat-builder called Mailings Compton.

Former Antigua and Barbuda diplomat Sir Ronald Sanders said while he was Vincentian by birth, Sir John had "sculpted his reputation and legacy as political leader extraordinaire out of the throes of St. Lucia's development.

"Sir John Compton's political evolution from Chief Minister, Premier and Prime Minister of St. Lucia symbolises the interconnectedness of the comity of Caribbean nations and the benefits of free inter-territorial movement.

"Like so many of his political cohorts, Sir John's political career was built on a solid base in the legal profession, having studied law and being called to the Bar in England. His entry into politics formally was as a member of the St. Lucia Labour Party," Sir Ronald said.

central figure

Sir John was indeed the central figure in the politics of the island. From June 1964 to April 1996, except for the 30 months between July 1979 and May 1982, Sir John served as head of government until he passed on the office to his chosen successor, Dr. Vaughan Lewis, on April 2, 1996.

But after a humiliating performance in the May 23, 1997, General Election that resulted in the Lewis-led UWP suffering a massive defeat at the hands of the St. Lucia Labour Party (SLP), losing all but one of the 17 seats, Sir John also witnessed the party he founded in 1964 being trounced again in 1992, before deciding to rekindle his political career that resulted in the stunning victory of 2007.

John Melville Compton began his political love affair with St. Lucia soon after he was called to the Bar as a young lawyer on August 7, 1951.

Political activism was very strong. The island had attained universal adult suffrage and the young lawyer joined the burgeoning trade union movement and its political arm, the SLP, that had been aggressively pursuing improved wages and working conditions for agricultural and other workers of the lower strata of society.

In 1954, Sir John was elected to the Legislative Council, and his active participation against the plantocracy through industrial disturbances on the sugar estates in 1957, gave him national prominence.

Following the general election of mid-1957, he became Minister for Trade and Industry in the Labour Party government, but his leadership ambitions caused unease within the party and when the personality and political differences

became acute in 1961, dissenting party colleagues, led by Sir John, formed the National Labour Movement (NLM).

UWP formed

In April 1964, Compton merged his NLM with the People's Progressive Party of William George Mallet to form the UWP and it immediately gained the support of the general population, winning the election of that year with Sir John becoming Chief Minister.

Three years later, he led St. Lucia to associated statehood with Britain, becoming also the island's first premier.

Modernisation of St. Lucia's utilities, reform of the social sector and a radical programme for rural development, were the hallmarks of his political career. He moved the island away from sugar to bananas and introduced tourism as a national income earner.

His political fortunes in government were also helped considerably by the fragmentation of the SLP during the second half of the 1960s, which aided his election victories in 1969 and 1974.

One political commentator once wrote that Sir John was no wilting flower. When he disagreed, he dug his heels in hard and could be immovable if he felt that decisions were not in the interest of St. Lucia or indeed of the principles he believed in personally.

opposed bishop in grenada

In 1979, when the New Jewel Movement of Maurice Bishop overthrew the government of Eric Gairy and seized power in Grenada, Sir John ardently and vociferously opposed its recognition.

"He personally canvassed the British government of Margaret Thatcher not to recognise the regime and encouraged intervention to overturn the revolution, and he was sorely disappointed when the British government decided that it recognised 'states not governments'."

Perhaps his position on Grenada was nurtured by the resurgence of the SLP in the mid-1970s that was due mainly to the influx of intellectuals and young professionals into its ranks.

Among them was the Oxford University graduate George Odlum and the University of the West Indies-trained agronomist Peter Josie, who, together, formed a powerful mobilisation machine that gained the attention of the island's increasing numbers of unemployed young people.

Despite strong opposition from the SLP, Sir John in 1997 successfully negotiated the island's independence from Britain. But the island marked its birth as an independent nation on February 22, 1979, in a mixed atmosphere of fanfare and turmoil. The independence party was dampened by a prolonged public-service strike and other protests included a destructive fire at the male prison.

soundly beaten

A politically wounded Sir John was soundly beaten in the ensuing general election four months later, with the SLP winning 12 of the 17 seats, and the UWP seemed destined for disintegration.

But six months into the life of the new government, Sir John emerged to lead his party into a position that took full advantage of the internal squabble that split the new administration, forcing its collapse in early 1982.

Sir John rode back into government in the election that followed, winning 14 seats to the opposition's three.

He immediately set about rebuilding the economy which had been severely battered by the political strife in the ill-fated Labour Party government. The banana industry, which was nearly wiped out by Hurricane Allen in 1980, was given a generous package of incentives by the new Prime Minister, who also embarked on a process of modernising the infrastructure and attracting investment.

But while concentrating on the big projects and economic expansion, his government lost touch with the social realities of the people, and this neglect hit home with almost devastating consequences in 1987, when two general elections had to be held in April of that year in an attempt to address a one-seat majority for the UWP.

However, one month after the repeat vote, Sir John was able to influence an opposition legislator to 'cross the floor' and join his government. The 'crossover' allowed him to stabilise his administration and last a full term to April 1992, when his party enhanced its performance with an 11-6 triumph at the polls.

challenging years

The years that followed proved to bea major challenge for Sir John's UWP, especially in light of the declining fortunes of the banana industry, upon which the island's economy was built. Gluts on the market forced prices down, lowering returns to farmers to dangerous levels. Compton's power base, the banana farmers in the north and south of the island, were grumbling and protesting their declining standards of living.

A number of no-cut strikes followed to back numerous grievances of the farmers over plans to recognise and restructure the banana industry to prepare it for competition in Europe. Sir John adopted a tough but unpopular stance of no dialogue with the Banana Salvation Committee, the growers' pressure group, whose members he branded as politically motivated, economic saboteurs and a criminal gang.

On January 1, 1996, at the annual conference of the party, Sir John announced that he would not be seeking re-election as political leader, ending 32 years as head of the party. Sir John was knighted by her Majesty the Queen in 1997, crowning a marathon and successful career in public life.

In a symbolic gesture, he passed on the torch to Dr. Lewis and headed off into the Caribbean sunset. In 2003, he was awarded the Order of the Caribbean Community (OCC), the highest award by CARICOM for persons who have made an indelible contribution to the development of the regional integration process.

"To his regional colleagues and senior technocrats, he had become the quintessential Caribbean man; ready to dependably support any feasible initiative towards deepening or widening the Caribbean integration movement," notes the citation for his OCC award.

Sir Ronald notes that his deep and unswerving commitment to regional unity was a constant of his tenure on the region's political stage.

"He was a pillar of the regional integration movement and participated in many of the institutions that gave birth to and shaped the current form of the Caribbean Community.

"His enthusiasm for a system of regional unity was evident by his support for and involvement in the West Indies Federation and the creation of the Caribbean Free Trade Areas.

"Sir John's legacy to the region's development is marked by the role he played in the establishment of key Caribbean institutions, including CARICOM, the Caribbean Development Bank, the West Indies Association States Council of Ministers, the Eastern Caribbean Common Market, and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States ," Sir Ronald added.

bitten by political bug again

But the political bug prevented Sir John from staying away from active politics and he used his status as a Caribbean elder statesman to campaign against interference of political parties in the internal affairs of other Caribbean countries.

It was a subject he had trumpeted unsuccessfully while he stood on the sidelines of Caribbean politics and had promised to raise the matter with his Caribbean colleagues when he next had the opportunity of sitting around the table at the annual CARICOM summit. Alas, he never had the opportunity.

"At the behest of the people" he regained the leadership of the UWP when he successfully challenged the academic Vaughan Lewis in March 2005 and followed up the coup with the December general-election victory.

But two weeks after presenting his national budget and his plans for revitalising the island's economy, Sir John took ill and the nation was later told he had suffered a series of minor strokes while undergoing medical tests in the United States.

Sir John is survived by his wife Lady Janice, one of the daughters of the island's first Governor-General, Sir Frederick Clarke, and five children.