Background
Allan Fitzgerald Laurent Louisy was born in Laborie on 5 September 1916.
government official politician
Allan Fitzgerald Laurent Louisy was born in Laborie on 5 September 1916.
He received his primary and secondary education in St. Lucia, and was called to the bar in 1945, and entering private practice for one year.
He served as crown attorney or magistrate in St. Lucia, Antigua, Montserrat, Dominica, and Jamaica, ending up as a Puisne Judge in the West Indies Associated States Supreme Court in Antigua.
Louisy returned to St. Lucia as the St. Lucia Labor Party (SLP) was at a low ebb. After winning elections in 1951, 1954, 1957, and 1961, the party lost power to the United Workers Party led by John Compton in 1964. A group of young radical activists, headed by George Odium, had joined the party in 1973 and managed to radicalize it. To further strengthen the appeal of the party and to bolster its legitimacy, Louisy was invited to join and he emerged as the compromise choice for party leader in 1974. He became Leader of the Opposition, after winning a seat to the House of Assembly.
Louisy became embroiled in conflict with the more radical members of the party under Deputy Leader Odium. Nonethless, he was able to lead the SLP to victory in June 1979, a few months after the country became independent, and became the country’s second prime minister. The victory was due, in large part, to Odium’s appeal. Trade union leaders played a much more active role, with four holding ministerial posts.
In 1981 Louisy was forced to resign as prime minister and SLP leader after a parliamentary defeat of his budget. The party managed to hold onto power until 1982 when it was defeated in an election following loss of a vote of confidence in Parliament.