Dr. Keith Claudius Mitchell is a former Prime Minister of Grenada, a small island nation in the Caribbean. He was born on November 12, 1946, in Brizan, St. George’s, Grenada. Dr. Mitchell has had a long and distinguished career in politics, having served as Prime Minister of Grenada for a total of five terms.

Dr. Mitchell first entered politics in 1972 contesting the St. George North West Constituency losing to the GULP George Hosten. Mitchell left the island shortly after the 1972 election to study in the USA, he returned to Grenada in 1983 after the collapse of the revolution and the killing of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop. Mitchell started the Grenada Democratic Movement with an aim at contesting the general election however, to avoid the GULP of former Prime Minister Sir Eric Gairy regaining power all opposition parties met on Union Island to discuss the formation of a new political party. They come up with the New National Party NNP and elected Herbert Blaze as leader to contest the 1984 general elections.

After the NNP victory at the polls Mitchell was appointed Minister of Works and Communications in 1987. In 1990, staged a palace coup within the NNP. Mitchell unprecedented challenge of a sitting Prime Minister and was elected as the leader of the New National Party (NNP) casting the country in another political turmoil. Prime Minister Blaze then boke away from the NNP and formed The National Party TNP.

Dr. Mitchell first became Prime Minister of Grenada in 1995, and he served in that position until 2008. During his first term, he implemented a number of significant reforms, including the establishment of the Small Business Development Fund, and the introduction of Universal Secondary Education.

After losing the 2008 election, Dr. Mitchell became the Leader of the Opposition, and later led the NNP to consecutive landslide victories in the 2013 and 2018 elections..

With his back against the wall of losing the 2018 election Mitchell told a massive crowd of supporters on the eve of the 2018 election that “we have found oil” and there are several more wells with even better prospect. This was a big lie just to win an election.

Dr. Mitchell has also been a strong advocate for Caribbean unity and has played an active role in regional politics. He has served as Chair of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and has been a vocal advocate for regional integration and cooperation.

In recognition of his contributions to Grenada and the wider Caribbean region, Dr. Mitchell has received a number of honors and awards. In 2002, he was awarded the Caribbean American Democratic Leadership Council’s Leadership Award, and in 2010 he was awarded the Order of the Caribbean Community by CARICOM.

Mitchell promised the Grenadian people that the 2022 election will be his last but after losing to Dickon Mitchell Dr. Keith seems to have a change of heart. The NNP is now struggling to stay alive with some revolt against Dr. Keith.

There were several accusation of corruption by the opposition against Dr. Keith Mitchell during his long reign such as the disappearance of an eight million dollar aero plane while he was aviation minister, the Rigid Panel fiasco, the several failed Mt. Hartman projects, the St. Mark Chicken and Shrimp farms and more. However, no charges were brought against him when the NDC had a chance to investigate their allegations in 2008 and 2022.

Dr. Keith Mitchell will always be remembered for his contributions whether good or bad.

By T.L. Neckles