Hector John
Encyclopedia
Hector John is a Dominica
Dominica
Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...

n politician in the United Workers' Party
United Workers' Party (Dominica)
The United Workers' Party is a centrist political party in Dominica. As of the 2009 general election, it is the only opposition party represented in the House of Assembly of Dominica, holding three of the twenty-one seats...

. He is the current Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Opposition (Dominica)
The Leader of the Opposition of the Commonwealth of Dominica is the Member of Parliament who leads the Official Opposition in the House of Assembly of Dominica...

, the youngest ever to hold that position. He was first elected as a Representative to the House of Assembly
House of Assembly of Dominica
The House of Assembly is the legislature of Dominica. It is established by Chapter III of the Constitution of Dominica, and together with the President of Dominica constitutes Dominica's Parliament. The House is unicameral, and consists of twenty-one Representatives, nine Senators, and an...

 in 2009.

John was born in Salisbury, Dominica. He graduated from the St. Joseph Campus of the Dominica Grammar School, and then earned a B.A. in Information Technology from Monroe College
Monroe College
Monroe College is a proprietary college with campuses in the Bronx and New Rochelle in the U.S. state of New York and in the Caribbean nation of St. Lucia. The college is named after James Monroe, the fifth President of the United States. Mildred King founded the "Monroe School of Business" in...

 in New York.

Hector worked in the banana industry for over 16 years, as a statistics officer and information technology assistant. He was active in the Salisbury community as a leader of several organizations, including the Salisbury Catholic Youth Movement and the Salisbury Improvement Committee.

John entered politics as a candidate for the Salisbury parliamentary constituency in the 2009 general election
Dominican general election, 2009
A parliamentary election was held in Dominica on 18 December 2009, to elect the 21 Representatives of the House of Assembly. The incumbent Dominica Labour Party increased its majority to 18 of 21 seats, winning a third term.-Key:...

, on the ticket of the opposition United Workers' Party. John won against the Labour Party
Dominica Labour Party
The Dominica Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in Dominica.-History:Founded in 1955 by Phyllis Shand Allfrey and Emmanuel Christopher Loblack, it is the oldest political party in Dominica. It first contested general elections in 1961, winning seven of the eleven seats. In the next...

 candidate Bentley Royer
Bentley Royer
Julien Bentley Royer is a Dominican politician in the Dominica Labour Party and a former schoolteacher. He served briefly as a senator in the Dominica House of Assembly in 2010, and has twice been an unsuccessful candidate for an elected seat....

 on 18 December 2009, with 817 to 512 votes (60.7% to 38.1%); the overall results left the UWP with only three of the twenty-one seats.

John subsequently joined the UWP boycott of the House of Assembly, in protest against alleged election irregularities. After John did not attend three consecutive sessions, Speaker of the House Alix Boyd Knights
Alix Boyd Knights
Alix Boyd Knights is a Dominican politician and attorney who is the current Speaker of the House of Assembly.Boyd Knights was first elected Speaker on 17 April 2000 and was re-elected on 27 July 2005. Upon her election to a third term on 4 February 2010, she became the longest serving Speaker in...

 declared his and another UWP seat vacant in April, and a by-election
Dominican by-election, 2010
A by-election was held on 9 July 2010 in Dominica, to fill two seats in the House of Assembly that were declared vacant. The contested seats were both won by significant margins by the incumbent candidates, who were members of the opposition United Workers' Party.Following the results of the 2009...

 was scheduled for 9 July 2010. John again ran and won against Royer for the Salisbury constituency in the by-election, with 772 votes to Royer's 415 (64.4% to 34.6%).

John was sworn in as Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Opposition (Dominica)
The Leader of the Opposition of the Commonwealth of Dominica is the Member of Parliament who leads the Official Opposition in the House of Assembly of Dominica...

on 19 July 2010.
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