George Odlum

George William Odlum (24 June 1934 – 28 September 2003) was a Saint Lucian left-wing politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister.

Born in Castries, Odlum studied at Bristol University and Oxford University in the United Kingdom before returning to Saint Lucia as Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Trade.

After working for the Commonwealth Secretariat and the West Indies Associated States, he formed the Saint Lucia Forum, a left-wing pressure group.

Odlum was born on 24 June 1934 in Castries, the son of a barber.

He studied economics at Bristol University, becoming the first Afro-Caribbean head of the University of Bristol Union before moving to Magdalen College, Oxford in 1959, where he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics and was one of the few Afro-Caribbean students to attend.

At university, Odlum acted, played both football and cricket, and became noted as a successful debater.

During the early 1960s, St Lucia and the other West Indies Associated States were British colonies, with a limited degree of self-rule.

After graduating from Oxford he returned to St Lucia in 1961, becoming a Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Trade.

He moved back to the United Kingdom in 1964 to work as an economist in the Commonwealth Secretariat, leaving 3 years later.

Returning to St Lucia again, he became Executive Secretary to the Council of Ministers of the West Indies Associated States.

In St Lucia, the Saint Lucia Labour Party was considered the traditional party for "political and constitutional advance" but, despite this, it lost the general election in 1964 to the United Workers Party, a right-wing party led by John Compton that continued to rule until 1979.

In response Odlum, a socialist, founded the Saint Lucia Forum, a pressure group that discussed "the socialist and black cultural ideas which were beginning to challenge the Caribbean status quo".

This was part of a group of Forums established in 1970 following secret talks with other left-wing Caribbean intellectuals, including Maurice Bishop.

In 1972 Odlum left his job with the Council of Ministers to form the St Lucia Action Movement, which later merged with a weakened Labour Party in time for the 1974 general election.

Odlum's faction of the Labour Party did most of the work in the election, building their power base among the banana-producing small farmers, with Odlum leading frequent strikes in an attempt to improve working conditions.

This group merged with the Saint Lucia Labour Party in time for the 1974 elections; although the Party did not win, the progress they made allowed them to take power in 1979, with Odlum as Deputy Prime Minister.

Although a secret agreement originally stated that Odlum would take power after six months, his support for Cuba and similar left-wing nations led to American pressure to keep him out.

His work in the 1974 election, along with his "good looks and charisma", yielded a safe seat in Castries, which he allowed his brother to run for.

Odlum instead chose to campaign for a rural seat held by the United Workers Party, which he lost by a small margin.

Despite the Labour Party still being in opposition in Saint Lucia, socialism and left-wing politics were on the rise in the Caribbean as a whole and, during his time out of Parliament, Odlum was the public face of socialism in the region.

Saint Lucia gained full independence in 1979.

Immediately beforehand, Odlum organised large protests in front of international news cameras, further cementing his role in the region's communist and socialist movement.

Three weeks after independence, the nearby country of Grenada saw the overthrow of its government by communists revolutionaries led by Maurice Bishop.

When the United Workers Party called a general election in Saint Lucia three weeks later, Compton's government fell – Odlum was returned to Parliament and the Labour Party, led by Allan Louisy, came to power.

Odlum's prominent role within the party led to his immediate appointment as Deputy Prime Minister, with the portfolios of foreign affairs and trade and industry.

He publicly supported the Grenadian revolutionaries, who were constructing a new airport with Cuban support.

Ronald Reagan alleged that this was to be used as a launching point for Soviet aircraft, and Odlum's support for it worried both the Americans (due to their concerns about the purposes of the new facility) and his fellow communists, who saw him as a "loose cannon" and thought that his continuing public championing of it would further draw American attention.

Louisy had become Prime Minister thanks to a secret agreement with Odlum that he would resign, allowing Odlum to take over, within 6 months.

When the time came Louisy refused, backed by the Americans, who wanted to keep Odlum out of office at all costs.

This saw Odlum turn against his own government and even vote against the budget.

A second proposal that Louisy resign was rejected on 30 December 1980, with the power struggle continuing despite his agreement to hand over some of his portfolios.

The dispute continued into 1981, with Odlum attracting controversy by announcing on 3 March that he had not ignored the possibility of his grouping within the Labour Party splitting and joining the United Workers Party.

The result was the 1981 dismissal of Odlum as Deputy Prime Minister and the resignation of Louisy.

After months of negotiations, Odlum was dismissed as Deputy Prime Minister, and the ensuing government weakness and infighting led to its defeat in the 1982 election.

In opposition, Odlum was made Ambassador to the United Nations, resigning in 1996.

When the Labour Party came to power again a year later, he became Foreign Minister, overseeing the establishment of stronger relations with both Cuba and China.

Amidst controversy over his alleged alliance with the opposition, Odlum resigned in 2001.

Never again returning to power, he died on 28 September 2003 following a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Odlum's legacy is controversial: while noted as a skilled orator who cared deeply for Saint Lucia's working class, his idealism, support for controversial figures such as Muammar Gaddafi and departure from two Labour administrations were noted as factors which harmed him and others around him.

Despite this, his funeral saw widespread grieving, with Ralph Gonsalves, the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, describing him simply as a "giant of a man".