Deputy PM is now Sir Louis

When the Queen’s new years honours list was read on New Year’s Day, Sir Louis Hilton Straker became the fourteenth Vincentian born person to be awarded the Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of St. Michael and St. George, KCMG. Six of those were Governors or Governors-General.{{more}}

Sir Louis was born in Layou on February 23, 1944. He received his primary education at the Layou Government School, then pursued his secondary education at the Emmanuel High School, Kingstown, from which he graduated with a Senior Cambridge Certificate.

The country’s most recent knight started a career in teaching at the Layou Government School, but left after eighteen months to pursue higher education in the United States of America. He obtained a BA in Political Science from Hunter College, City University of New York, and then a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Long Island University. He later worked for the Chemical Bank of New York, (now Chase Manhattan), and retired after 25 years of service to that institution.

In 1994, he contested the General Elections on a Unity Labour Party (ULP) ticket and became the Member of Parliament for the Central Leeward Constituency. He was re-elected in the 1998 general elections, and again on March 28, 2001 and December 7, 2005. On April 1, 2001 and again on December 8, 2005, Sir Louis was sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Commerce and Trade. He had a brief stint from May to December 2005 he served as Minister of Transport, Works and Housing.

Sir Louis is married to Lydia, Lady Straker and they have three grown up children.

The other Vincentian-born awardees of the KCMG who were not Governors or Governors-General were Sir Arnott Cato, Sir Fred Phillips, Sir Phillip H. Veira, Sir John Compton, Sir James Mitchell, Sir Dwight Venner, and Sir Vincent Beache.