Background
Watts was born in the parish of Saint Patrick"s on the Caribbean island of Grenada.
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John Watts
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He studied to become a dentist at Michigan State University and was registered as a dentist of Saint George"s on 21 November 1955.
Career
He and his friend, the barrister and civil servant from Carriacou, Herbert Blaize, started the (Gross National Product). He chaired the Grenada Tourist Board for 10 years and was president of the Caribbean Tourism Association (CTA) for two years. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) on 31 December 1987.
In 1974, Sir John became the first District Governor for District 404 which includes all the French, Dutch, and English speaking islands in the Caribbean.
He was president of the Senate from 1988-1990 and from 1995-2004. In June 2004, he was appointed a consultant to parliament as a senior figure in the then-ruling party.
On 31 December 1999, he was awarded the Order of Street Michael and Street George (Knight Commander of the Order of Street Michael and Saint George). He was praised in December 2012 by the Grenada Hotel and Tourism Association, as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations sponsored by Spice Island Beach Resort to honour him as the main stimulus behind the formation of the association in 1961.
Doctor Keith Mitchell mentioned his own successful bid for leadership of the party in 1989, noting that Sir John, unlike many of his peers, was the one person who stated, “let democracy prevail” when he wrested leadership from Mr Blaize, which led to formation of the New National Party.
A year later, at the Independence Day Awards, he was among four people rewarded for their contribution to the growth of the nation. He died on 11 May 2015 near Saint George"s, Grenada.
Politics
In an early Gross National Product manifesto Watts declared that the party was "democratic socialist", but disavowed trade union connections and shaped the party to have a multi-class appeal — a philosophy inherited by Blaize when he became leader two years later. The first General election with several political parties was held in 1957 (although it was the third held on the basis of universal adult suffrage). 1960 saw the Gross National Product in a coalition with another political party and the following year it lost the election.
However Gairy was soon banned from political activities, losing his seat (1957-1961), and the Constitution was suspended by Britain (following an enquiry into Gairy"s government). The Gross National Product then won the 1962 elections, on an unfulfilled promise of a "unitary state" with Trinidad and Tobago, and Blaize remained chief minister until the party lost the elections to Gairy in August 1967.
Membership
He was later appointed member of the 1976 Convention Committee of International and helped the charter of the Rotaract Club of Grenada (on 21 January 1978).
Connections
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Born
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Died
March 11, 2015 (aged 94) -
Nationality
Grenadian -
Political Party
Grenada National Party
Awards
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Order of Street Michael and Street George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later King George IV, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, King George III.The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later King George IV, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, King George III.