Adelina Tuitt
{{Short description|Montserratian politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| office = Minister of Health, Education, and Community Services
| termstart = 23 August 1997
| termend = 1 February 2001
| predecessor = ?
| successor = ?
| 1blankname = Chief Minister
| 1namedata = David Brandt
| office1 = Member of the
Legislative Council of Montserrat
| termstart1 = 11 November 1996
| termend1 = 2 February 2001
| predecessor1 = ?
| successor1 = Constituency disestablished
| constituency1 = Eastern
}}
Adelina E. Tuitt is a Montserratian politician who served in the Legislative Council of Montserrat from 1996 until 2001. She was the territory's Minister of Health, Education, and Community Services, in the wake of the volcanic eruptions of the 1990s, which devastated the southern half of the island. A member of the Movement for National Reconstruction party, Tuitt represented the Eastern constituency.
Biography
In 1993, prior to entering elected office, Adelina Tuitt was the public relations officer for the government of Montserrat. In this position, she advocated for Montserrat, a British Overseas Territory, to distance itself from the United Kingdom by building closer ties with other Caribbean states. She also supported the joining of various regional and international associations, including the Organization of American States; the Food and Agriculture Organization; UNESCO; and "possibly the United Nations", which would precede full independence for the country.{{Cite journal |date=1993 |title=Decolonization |url=https://www.un.org/dppa/decolonization/sites/www.un.org.dppa.decolonization/files/decon_num_46-1.pdf |journal=United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs |issue=46 |pages=12}}
In the 1996 Montserratian general election, Tuitt was elected to the Legislative Council of Montserrat, representing the Eastern constituency as a member of the Movement for National Reconstruction party.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MkAqAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Adelina+Tuitt%22 |title=The Parliamentarian |date=1997 |publisher=Commonwealth Parliamentary Association |volume=78-79 |location=London |pages=130 |language=en}}{{Cite web |date= |title=Montserrat General Election Results - 11 November 1996 |url=http://www.caribbeanelections.com/ms/elections/ms_results_1996.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230127043945/http://www.caribbeanelections.com/ms/elections/ms_results_1996.asp |archive-date=2023-01-27 |access-date=2023-04-18 |website=CaribbeanElections.com}} She received 189 votes (54.9%) in the single-member constituency.{{Cite web |date=November 12, 1996 |title=Montserrat General Elections Nov 11th 1996 |url=http://www.montserratreporter.org/election.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120094502/http://www.montserratreporter.org/election.htm |archive-date=2008-11-20 |access-date=2023-04-18 |website=The Montserrat Reporter}} Tuitt was invited into the coalition government of Chief Minister Bertrand Osborne.{{Cite web |last=Gibbings |first=Wesley |date=1996-11-14 |title=Coalition Government for British Dependency |url=https://www.ipsnews.net/1996/11/montserrat-politics-coalition-government-for-british-dependency/ |access-date=2023-04-18 |website=Inter Press Service}} Osborne resigned the following year in the wake of the island's devastating 1997 volcanic eruption; Tuitt remained in the government of Osborne's successor, David Brandt, and was appointed Minister of Health, Education, and Community Services on 23 August 1997.{{Cite web |date=August 23, 1997 |title=Montserrat evacuation begins |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1997/08/23/Montserrat-evacuation-begins/8495872308800/ |access-date=2023-04-18 |website=United Press International |language=en}} In this role, Tuitt was responsible for overseeing the remnants and reconstruction of Montserrat's health and housing services in the wake of the disaster, which left the entire southern half of the island permanently uninhabitable. The island's healthcare infrastructure had largely collapsed, with only a single makeshift hospital and limited aid from the British government. As a result, many Montserrat citizens fled to the United Kingdom or neighboring Caribbean nations.{{Cite web |date=February 12, 1998 |title=Surviving in the shadow of a volcano |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/56196.stm |access-date=2023-04-18 |website=BBC News}}
Also tasked with overseeing the construction of new housing, Tuitt led the Montserratian delegation to the 1997 conference of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). She was a key figure in a plan which created a new village on the island with the aid of CARICOM. Housing units were pre-fabricated in Cuba and brought to Montserrat for installation; in total, the "CARICOM village" consisted of 25 three-bedroom housing units. Construction was completed in October 1999.{{Cite web |date=1999-12-30 |title=Montserrat Receives Caricom Gift of Love |url=https://caricom.org/montserrat-receives-caricom-gift-of-love/ |access-date=2023-04-18 |website=Caribbean Community |language=en-US}} The year prior, she also met with Clare Short, the British Secretary of State for International Development, regarding the island's issues with health and housing.{{Cite web |last=Aspin |first=Richard |date=April 2, 1998 |title=Montserrat Today - For Wednesday/Thursday April 1/2, 1998 |url=http://www.geo.mtu.edu/volcanoes/west.indies/soufriere/govt//monmedia/1998/mt_1998092.html |access-date=2023-04-17 |website=Government of Montserrat |via=Michigan Technological University}}
By 2000, Tuitt had become a strong critic of Brandt,{{Cite book |last=Fergus |first=Howard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5RVsAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Adelina+Tuitt%22 |title=Montserrat in the Twentieth Century: Trials and Triumphs |date=2000 |publisher=University of the West Indies |isbn=978-976-8018-08-3 |location=Kingston |pages=25 |language=en |author-link=Howard Fergus}} calling him "too autocratic" and accusing him of having "dictatorial leanings".{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cC0cAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Adelina+Tuitt%22 |title=Latin American Regional Reports: Caribbean & Central America report |date=2001 |publisher=LatinNews |volume=101-102 |location=London |pages=8 |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=King |first=Nelson |date=April 19, 2001 |title=Montserratans In Big Apple React To Recent Government Elections |url=https://www.qchron.com/montserratans-in-big-apple-react-to-recent-government-elections/article_be0d7f3f-cfb0-5ef5-8b57-3758934e2e44.html |access-date=2023-04-18 |website=Queens Chronicle |language=en}} Much of the dispute stemmed from Brandt's authorization of the construction of a new airport on Montserrat, as the previous airport had been destroyed in the volcanic eruptions; Tuitt alleged that Brandt authorized construction without consulting his ministers. On 1 February 2001, Tuitt, along with communications minister Rupert Weekes, resigned from their ministerial posts. Their resignations led to the collapse of Brandt's government, which only had a one-seat majority in the seven-seat legislative council, forcing an early general election that saw Brandt's government defeated.{{Cite web |date=February 3, 2001 |title=Ministers Resign in Montserrat |url=https://apnews.com/article/bf041b8ae88c55905a2ac4ac00ccc066 |access-date=2023-04-17 |website=Associated Press |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Middleton |first=James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XzuRvYNWL0MC&q=%22Adelina+Tuitt%22 |title=The Europa World Year Book 2007 |date=2007 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-85743-414-9 |pages=4731 |language=en}} Tuitt left office at the end of her term, the day after her ministerial resignation.{{Cite web |title=Our Past Parliamentarians |url=https://www.parliament.ms/past-parliamentarians/ |access-date=2023-04-18 |website=Legislative Assembly of Montserrat |page=6 |language=en}}{{Cite book |url=https://www.parliament.ms/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Parliamentary-Data.pdf |title=Montserrat Legislative Assembly Parliamentary Data 1952-2019 |publisher=Legislative Assembly of Montserrat |year=2019 |location=Brades |pages=8}}
After leaving the legislature, Tuitt remained politically active. In 2009, she became the president of the Montserrat Reform Party, and she was a candidate for speaker of the new Legislative Assembly of Montserrat following the 2014 election.{{Cite web |title=Adelina Tuitt |url=https://www.smolec.pl/kobiety/adelina_tuitt.htm |access-date=2023-04-18 |website=Smolec.pl}}{{Cite web |last=Robinson |first=Jeevan A. |date=June 11, 2014 |title=Shirley Osborne, Selected As New Speaker of Montserrat's Legislative Assembly |url=https://www.mnialive.com/articles/shirley-osborne-selected-as-new-speaker-of-montserrat-s-legislative-assembly/ |access-date=2023-04-18 |website=MNI Alive |language=en}} In 2018, Tuitt advocated for the reformation of the legislature, specifically arguing against the use of a single multi-member constituency, which she claimed were not representative of the voting bloc; prior to the 2001 election, the country used single-member constituencies, though this was changed due to the volcanic eruptions depopulating four of the seven legislative constituencies.{{Cite web |date=July 20, 2018 |title=Former Government Minister Calls for Changes to Election Voting System |url=https://www.zjbradio.com/news/2018/7/20/former-government-minister-calls-for-changes-to-election-voting-system |access-date=2023-04-18 |website=Radio Montserrat |language=en-US}} Tuitt ran for the legislative assembly in the 2019 election, but was defeated, receiving 248 votes and placing twenty-second out of twenty-four candidates.{{Cite book |url=https://statistics.gov.ms/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Statistics-Compendium-2020-1.pdf |title=Statistics Compendium 2016-2019 |publisher=Government of Montserrat |year=2020 |location=St. John's |pages=48}} In September 2022, she gave a speech at the Montserrat Secondary School.{{Cite web |date=September 1, 2022 |title=First Formers Attend Orientation Exercise This Week |url=https://www.zjbradio.com/news/2022/9/1/transitioning-students-attend-orientation-exercise-this-week |access-date=2023-04-18 |website=Radio Montserrat |language=en-US}}
References
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Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:Date of birth missing (living people)
Category:Place of birth missing (living people)
Category:Members of the Legislative Council of Montserrat
Category:Montserratian women in politics
Category:Movement for National Reconstruction politicians