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Ralph Everard Gonsalves (born 8 August 1946) is a Vincentian politician who has served as prime minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the leader of the Unity Labour Party (ULP) since 2001. Profile , caribbeanelections.com; accessed 1 September 2014.
Gonsalves is the longest continuously serving Prime Minister since St. Vincent's independence in 1979. He became prime minister after his party won a majority government in the 2001 general election. He was the first prime minister from the newly constructed ULP, following a merger of the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Labour Party and the Movement for National Unity. Profile , caribbeanelections.com; accessed 1 September 2014.
Gonsalves has been Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of North Central Windward since 1994. In 1994, upon the formation of the Unity Labour Party he became deputy leader, and became leader of the party in 1998.
With Gonsalves as leader, the ULP won a majority in the popular vote in every general election from 1998 through 2015, though it failed to secure the majority of parliamentary seats in the 1998 election. In 2020, the ULP won the election, but did not win the popular vote. On 7 November 2020, Gonsalves was sworn in for his fifth term as prime minister.
Gonsalves has been the longest-serving democratically-elected state leader since Samoan PM Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi was replaced in 2021.
Gonsalves attended Colonarie Roman Catholic School, and later the St. Vincent Grammar School. He then enrolled at the University of the West Indies, where he completed a bachelor's degree in economics. He later returned there to earn a master's degree in government, which he completed in 1971. In 1974, he completed a doctorate in government at the University of Manchester. Gonsalves was called to the bar at Gray's Inn in London in 1981. He also attended Makerere University in Uganda according to his address at the United Nations during the Africa Day event on 25 May 2019.
In 1994, Gonsalves became the deputy leader of the Unity Labour Party. After the resignation of Vincent Beache, Gonsalves became leader of the party in 1998. He was appointed leader of the opposition from December 1999 to January 2001. Gonsalves later led the Unity Labour Party to win the 2001 general election, becoming prime minister and Minister of Finance. His ULP was re-elected in the 2005 general election. In the 2010 general election, Gonsalves and the ULP were narrowly re-elected with 51.11% of the popular vote. Profile , caribbean360.com; accessed 1 September 2014.
In 2009 Gonsalves and the ULP led a referendum campaign Profile , caribbean360.com; accessed 1 September 2014. in favour of constitutional reform that would have abolished the country's constitutional monarchy, replacing Elizabeth II Profile, pdba.georgetown.edu; accessed 1 September 2014. with a non-executive president. The referendum was defeated, with 55.64% of voters rejecting the changes. Profile , antillean.org, 26 November 2009; accessed 1 September 2014. Gonsalves has persisted in his calls for the establishment of a presidency, proposing another referendum in 2022 to replace the monarchy while also voicing support to rename places in the country named after colonial figures such as Victoria Park.
In November 2017 Gonsalves gave up the portfolio of Minister of Finance to his son, Camillo Gonsalves.
On 3 July 2020, Gonsalves was elected Chairman of the Caribbean Community succeeding Mia Amor Mottley. His 6-month term ended on 1 January 2021, and he was succeeded by Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister, Keith Rowley.
In November 2020, Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines since 2001, made history by securing the fifth consecutive victory of his Unity Labour Party (ULP) in general election.
Gonsalves attended the coronation of Charles III at Westminster Abbey along with governor-general Susan Dougan on 6 May 2023. Gonsalves met with the King and other leaders of the Commonwealth the day prior.
Gonsalves supports capital punishment.
Gonsalves helped to organize a meeting in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines between Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro and Guyana President Irfaan Ali to discuss the 2023 Guyana-Venezuela crisis between the two nations. Gonsalves called on Maduro and Ali "to de-escalate the situation" and engage in "appropriate dialogue". Also invited to the meeting was Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
On August 5, 2021, at a protest against mandatory vaccination from COVID-19 organized by trade unions representing nurses, police and other workers, Gonsalves was attacked with a projectile near the entrance to Parliament. He sustained visible injuries to his head in the attack and was rushed to the hospital.
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