St. Lucia: Governor General Dame Pearlette Louisy to demit office

St. Lucia’s Governor General Dame Pearlette Louisy has announced that she will be leaving office at the end of the year.

The Governor General made the announcement in a nationally televised address late Wednesday.
“So, Ladies and Gentlemen I wish to announce that I will be demitting office as St. Lucia’s Governor General on December 31st, 2017. It has been indeed both a privilege and a pleasant duty to have served you and my country in this capacity,” she said.

Louisy did not disclose the reason behind her decision to step down from office.
However, it is widley speculated that the departure of the island-nation’s longest serving Governor General was requested by the Allen Chastanet-led administration.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Chastanet refused to be drawn on whether Louisy had been asked to resign, saying instead that it was “very unusual” to have a Governor General in position for such a length of time.

“As I leave office I thank everyone most sincerely for the many ways in which you have enriched both my personal and professional life, for your generous and endearing support, for your gracious encouragement and for the tremendous good will you have shown me. I want you to know that your joys have been my joys, your pain, my pain,” the Governor General added.

Louisy is the first woman to hold the office of Governor General of St Lucia.
She was sworn in on September 17, 1997.

“Throughout the course of these past 20 years I have drawn inspiration from Her Majesty’s own steadfast and unwavering commitment to duty and service and from my own upbringing which taught me to look beyond the constraints of the moment to the promises of the future. I hope therefore that I have in some small measure been able to deliver on these my pledges and undertakings and that you have been pleased with my efforts. -(CMC)