Ralph Everard Gonsalves or "Uncle Ralph" (born 8 August 1946), also known as "Comrade Ralph", is the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and leader of the Unity Labour Party (ULP).  Gonsalves became Prime Minister after his party won a majority government in the 2001 general election. He is currently serving his fourth term and 15th year in office.

Early life and education

Ralph Everad Gonsalves was born on 8 August 1946 to Alban Gonsalves (a farmer and small businessman) and Theresa Francis (a small business woman) in Colonarie, a rural village in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.  His foreparents came to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in 1845 as indentured servants from the Portuguese-ruled island of Madeira, some 300 kilometers off the north-west coast of Morocco in North West Africa.

Dr. Gonsalves was educated in St. Vincent and the Grenadines at the Colonarie Roman Catholic School and at the St. Vincent Boys’ Grammar School. He later completed a Bachelor's Degree in Economics at the University of the West Indies, there obtaining several noteworthy accolades including, President of the Debating Society and President of the Guild of Undergraduates. In 1971 he obtained a Masters in Government from the University of the West Indies. In 1974 and 1981, he obtained a PhD in Government and a Degree of Utter Barrister at University of Manchester, England and Gray’s Inn, London, respectively.

Career

Dr. Gonsalves became the Deputy Political Leader of the Unity Labour Party (ULP) in 1994. The ULP was a merger of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Labour Party and the Movement for National Unity (MNU).  After the resignation of Vincent Beache, Gonsalves became leader of the party in 1998, and led the party to victory in the General Elections held on 28 March 2001. He has remained Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines since then, winning the elections again in 2005, 2010, and 2015.  Now in his fourth term and 15th year in office, Gonsalves in one of the longest serving heads of government of the country.

Concurrently, while pursuing his political career and prior to his becoming the Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Gonsalves practiced law extensively and successfully before the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court in a wide range of matters, but particularly in the fields of constitutional law, criminal law, administrative law, matrimonial law, real property law, law of tort generally and the law of contract.

Dr. Gonsalves has researched, written and published extensively on a range of matters touching upon the Caribbean, African, trade unionism, comparative political economy, and developmental issues generally. Among his publications are: "History and the Future: A Caribbean Perspective" (Quik Print, St. Vincent, 1994) and "The Politics of Our Caribbean Civilisation – Essays and Speeches" (Great Works Depot, St. Vincent, 2001). His two latest publications "The Areas of a Prime Minister" and "The Making of the Comrade.

In 2015, Gonsalves led his Unity Labour Party to a fourth consecutive election victory.

Personal life