Milton Cato

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The Right Honourable Milton Cato
1st Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
In office 27 October 1979 – 30 July 1984
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor General	Sir Sydney Gun-Munro
Preceded by	Himself (As Premier)
Succeeded by	Sir James Fitz-Allen Mitchell
1st Premier of Saint Vincent
In office 8 December 1974 – 27 October 1979
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor	Rupert Godfrey John Sir Sydney Gun-Munro
Preceded by	Sir James Fitz-Allen Mitchell
Succeeded by	Himself (As Prime Minister)
In office 27 October 1969 – April 1972
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor	Hywel George Rupert Godfrey John
Preceded by	Himself (As Chief Minister)
Succeeded by	Sir James Fitz-Allen Mitchell
2nd Chief Minister of Saint Vincent
In office 19 May 1967 – 27 October 1969
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Administrator	Hywel George
Preceded by	Ebenezer Joshua
Succeeded by	Himself (As Premier)
Personal details
Born	(1915-06-03)3 June 1915 British Windward Islands
Died	10 February 1997(1997-02-10) (aged 81) Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Political party	Saint Vincent Labour Party

Robert Milton Cato (3 June 1915 – 10 February 1997) was a Saint Vincentian politician who served as the first Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and also held the offices Premier of Saint Vincent and Chief Minister of Saint Vincent before independence. Cato was the leader of the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Labour Party, and led the country through independence in 1979.^[1]

Life and career[]

Robert Milton Cato was born in Saint Vincent, British Windward Islands on 3 June 1915. He attended the St. Vincent Boys Grammar School from 1928 to 1933. On leaving school, the young Cato was articled to a Barrister-at-law in Kingstown, and began his career in law and was called to the Bar, Middle Temple in 1948. In 1945, he joined the First Canadian Army, attained the rank of Sergeant and gave active service in the Second World War in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany. Robert Milton Cato was married to Lucy Alexandra.

After returning to Saint Vincent, Cato became involved in politics. In 1955 he co-founded the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Labour Party.

Elected to the office of Chief Minister on 19 May 1967, as head of the St. Vincent Labour Party, Mr. Cato did much to improve the economic standing of the island. He was St. Vincent's first Premier on the island's entry to Statehood on 27 October 1969. He was out of government during the period 1972 to 1974 following his party's defeat. Cato's Labour Party lost elections in 1972 and the opposition leader, James Fitz-Allen Mitchell became Premier. Cato's party and its coalition partners won elections in 1974.

Robert Milton Cato led Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to complete independence from Britain on 27 October 1979, and is known as 'The Father of Independence'. Cato, a socialist politician, did not support other nearby socialist governments such as those in Cuba, Grenada and Guyana as he opposed Marxism.^{[citation needed]} Instead, his administration allied with like-minded pro-Western governments such as those in Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados, cooperating with them on economic and defense matters.^{[citation needed]}

Mr. Cato the longtime representative of the West St. George Constituency, retired from active politics following his party's defeat in the 1984 general elections. He died on 10 February 1997 at the age of 81. His hope was for unity in Vincentian society and a brighter future for the people. The Kingstown General Hospital was renamed The Milton Cato Memorial Hospital in his honour in October 2000.

Further reading[]

Fraser, Adrian (2007). "Cato, (Robert) Milton (1915–1997)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

References[]