Philip J. Pierre

Philip Joseph Pierre (born 18 September 1954) is a Saint Lucian politician currently serving as the prime minister of Saint Lucia since 28 July 2021. Pierre serves as the Minister for Finance, Economic Development and the Youth Economy. He is the Leader of the Saint Lucia Labour Party since 18 June 2016. He has represented the Castries East constituency in the House of Assembly since 1997. Pierre previously served as Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation and International Financial Services from 1997 to 2000; Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Port Services and Transport from 2011 to 2016; and as Leader of the Opposition from 2016 to 2021. Early life Pierre's mother Evelyn was a schoolteacher, and his father Auguste was a policeman. He studied at Saint Mary's College, then completed a BA (hons) in economics and a Master of Business Administration from the University of the West Indies. After graduation, he taught at Saint Mary's College and worked as a trainee manager at J.Q. Charles Ltd. Pierre then entered the finance industry: he worked as an audit clerk at Coopers & Lybrand and Pannell Kerr Forster, and as a financial controller at Stanthur Co. Ltd. From 1985 to 1994, Pierre was the Director of the National Research and Development Corporation. He was also Chief Executive of his own management consultancy firm, Philip J. Pierre Business Services Ltd., from 1990 to 1997.