Minister Roland Duncan assumes Vice Premiership of the Netherlands Antilles~
Willemstad, Curaçao- Five members of the National Alliance were sworn in as Ministers and Parliamentarians in the Council of Ministers and Parliament of the Netherlands Antilles during a ceremony at Fort Amsterdam on Friday March 26th 2010.
Henrietta Doran-York, George Pantophlet and Drs. Rodolphe Samuel took the oath before Governor General Frits Goedgedrag as Parliamentarians in a ceremony attended by their families and well-wishers. Shortly thereafter, Roland Duncan and Patrick Illidge were sworn in as Ministers in the second De Jongh-Elhage Cabinet.
Duncan returns as Minister of Constitutional and Home Affairs and also assumes the position of Vice- Premier of the Netherlands Antilles. Illidge is now the new Minister of Telecommunications and Transport. Mrs. Mavis Brooks-Salomon, LL.M, returns as Deputy Minister Plenipotentiary of the Netherlands Antilles, stationed in The Hague, Netherlands.
Commissioner William Marlin, Leader of the National Alliance and Government of Sint Maarten, was on hand to celebrate this historic occasion. This is the first time that the National Alliance has attained all seats in Parliament and that a Sint Maarten political party has appointed two Ministers in an Antillian cabinet.
The National Alliance has been assigned the Chairmanships of the Constitutional Affairs and Traffic and Transport Committees in Parliament. Additionally, the three Alliance Parliamentarians will decide shortly which committees they will join.
Photo caption: (from left to right) Senator Samuel, Leader of Government William Marlin, Senator Doran-York, Minister Duncan, Minister Illidge, and Senator Pantophlet.