Bequia (San Vicente y las Granadinas), 1931

By Rafael Affonso de Miranda Alonso

James Fitz-Allen Mitchell was born on May 15, 1931, on the island of Bequia, in the Grenadines archipelago. He completed his early education in Saint Vincent and Trinidad and Tobago, earning a degree in Agronomy from the University of British Columbia in Canada. He entered politics in 1966 as a member of the Saint Vincent Labour Party (SVLP). From 1967 to 1972, he served in Milton Cato’s Labour government as Minister of Trade, Agriculture, Tourism, and Labour.

In the 1972 elections, he ran as an independent and ended up leading a coalition government—including the People’s Political Party (PPP) of Ebenezer Joshua—becoming Chief Minister until 1974. In 1975, he founded the conservative New Democratic Party (NDP) and served as Prime Minister from 1984 to 2000. For over three decades, he was one of Saint Vincent’s most prominent political figures, alongside Milton Cato, his main rival. The NDP’s victory in the 1984 elections was a major surprise. These elections had been called early by Prime Minister Milton Cato, confident that his popularity—bolstered by his support for the U.S. invasion of Grenada—would secure an SVLP victory.

In 1989, Mitchell’s NDP won all parliamentary seats, ensuring a second term in office. He secured reelection again in 1994, followed by a historic fourth consecutive victory in 1998, though by a narrow margin. The NDP won eight parliamentary seats, while the opposition secured seven.

Given his professional background, Mitchell was deeply invested in modernizing the country’s agricultural sector, which was outdated and relied on obsolete techniques. He was particularly concerned with the state of banana cultivation, a crucial economic activity for the islands, employing a vast number of workers across its production chain.

In 2000, James Mitchell decided to step down from government leadership, handing over the position to his party colleague Arnhim Eustace.