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Paul Southwell

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Paul Southwell
Southwell at the funeral of Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw in 1978
2nd Premier of Saint Kitts and Nevis
In office
23 May 1978 – 18 May 1979
MonarchElizabeth II
GovernorProbyn Inniss
DeputyLee Moore
Preceded byRobert Llewellyn Bradshaw
Succeeded byLee Moore
1st Chief Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis
In office
1 January 1960 – July 1966
MonarchElizabeth II
AdministratorHenry Howard
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byRobert Llewellyn Bradshaw
Minister of Finance
In office
January 1960 – May 1979
Succeeded byCharles E. Mills
Personal details
Born
Caleb Azariah Paul Southwell

(1913-07-18)18 July 1913
British Dominica
(Now Dominica)
Died18 May 1979(1979-05-18) (aged 65)
Castries, Saint Lucia
Political partyLabour Party (1946–1979)

Caleb Azariah Paul Southwell (18 July 1913 – 18 May 1979) was the second Premier and first Chief Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean. He also worked as a teacher, police officer, and trade unionist.

Early life and career

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Southwell was born in Dominica on 18 July 1913 to Joseph and Amelia Southwell. At 13 years of age, Southwell became a teacher and later joined the Leeward Islands Police Force in 1938.[1] He served in Antigua, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Anguilla until he retired from the force in 1944.

In 1944, Southwell became an employee of the Saint Kitts Sugar Factory where he worked as a timekeeper and assistant stock clerk until the end of the sugar factory workers strike in 1948. Southwell joined the St. Kitts and Nevis Trades and Labour Union and Saint Kitts and Nevis Workers League (now the Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party) in 1946 and remained vice president of the Union from 1946 until his death.

Political career

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First elected to the Saint Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla Legislative Council in 1952, Southwell was appointed to the Executive Council in 1955 and served as the First Minister of Communications and Works in 1956. Southwell was appointed as the first Chief Minister of Saint Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla in 1960. He was later appointed Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance, Trade, Development, Industry and Tourism in several Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw administrations from 1967-1978,[2] and assumed the position of full Premier on the death of Bradshaw on 23 May 1978.

Death

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Southwell died of a heart disease on 18 May 1979, less than one year after becoming Premier, in Castries, Saint Lucia. The death occurred during a meeting of the West Indies Associated States Council of Ministers.[3][4] He was succeeded by his Deputy Premier, Lee Moore.[5]

Legacy

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The Industrial Park in St. Kitts was named in his honor

References

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  1. ^ "Sir C. A. Paul Southwell – St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party". 28 May 2018. Archived from the original on 28 May 2018.
  2. ^ "Historic St. Kitts - Sir Paul Southwell". www.historicstkitts.kn.
  3. ^ "The Virgin Islands Daily News - Google News Archive Search".
  4. ^ "Caleb Azariah Paul Southwell". Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  5. ^ "St Kitts And Nevis Labour Party To Elect A New Leader On 28 November - SKN News". SKN News. 27 November 2021.
Political offices
Preceded by
New office - replacing the Administrator of Saint Kitts and Nevis Henry Howard
Chief Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis
1960–1966
Succeeded by
Preceded by Premier of Saint Kitts and Nevis
1978–1979
Succeeded by