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The Prime Ministers of Dominica
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Pierre Charles (October 2000 - January 2004)

Charles was thrust into the leadership of his country following the sudden death of Rosie Douglas in October 2000. The community worker, teacher, and farmer was born at Grand Bay June 30, 1954. He attended the Dominica Grammar School and the St. Mary's Academy before going on to a career in teaching.

In 1985, he was elected to Parliament and served in the opposition Dominica Labor Party. He never lost an election and when the Labour Party formed the government in 2000 after a twenty-year haitus, he was given the powerful porfolio of minister of communications and works.

His tenure as Prime Minister coincided with the demise of the banana industry and a rapidly declining economy. He was widely respected for his integrity in government and for championing the cause of the youth.

In late 2003, he collapsed while chairing a CARICOM summit in Trinidad and was diagnosed with heart ailment. He subsequently underwent by pass heart surgery, but succumbed to heart failure in January 2004.