Gracita Arrindell
First President of the Parliament of Sint Maarten
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Gracita Arrindell (born 4 March 1956) is a politician of Sint Maarten, writer and women's rights activist, who was the first President of the Parliament of Sint Maarten, a role she held for two non-consecutive terms.
Gracita Arrindell | |
|---|---|
| President of Parliament | |
| In office 10 October 2010[1] – 14 July 2012 | |
| Monarch | Willem-Alexander |
| Governor | Eugene Holiday |
| Preceded by | Office created |
| Succeeded by | Rodolphe E. Samuel |
| In office 24 June 2013 – 9 October 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Rodolphe E. Samuel |
| Succeeded by | Lloyd J. Richardson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 4 March 1956 |
| Party | Unified Resilient St. Maarten Movement |
In 2025 she is Minister Plenipotentiary.[2]
Biography
Born in Curaçao,[3] she was awarded an MA degree in political science from the Catholic University, Nijmegen. In 1988, she became deputy secretary of the Island Council.[4] In 1994 she was the chair of the Constitutional Referendum Committee. In 1999 she was a candidate in the Island Council (IC) elections, representing the Democratic Party. However she later joined the People's Progressive Alliance (PPA), who won their first seat in 2003.[4]
In Looking Back to Move Forward (2006), Arrindell edited a collection of speeches by former Prime Ministers of the Netherlands Antilles.[5]
Arrindell was the first person to be elected President of the Parliament of Sint Maarten. She held the role of President for two terms: the first from 10 October 2010 to 14 July 2012; the second from 24 June 2013 to 9 October 2014.[6][7] During her tenure she was also the leader of the PPA.[8] She has spoken out against the nepotism that has been common in political appointments on the island.[9]
In 2022, she was chair of the supervisory board of Directors of the Princess Juliana International Airport.[4]
In 2024, she was president of the Peridot Foundation, an organisation she founded to combat domestic violence in Saba, Sint Eustasius and Sint Maarten.[10][11]
In 2024, she was Deputy Minister Plenipotentiary.[12] In the same year she published From Slavery to Freedom.[13]
Awards
In 2009 she was recognised with an Emerald Award from the Women of Great Esteem (WGE) Organization.[14]