Hector 'Spags' John is a Dominican politician in the United Workers' Party. He is the current Leader of the Opposition, the youngest ever to hold that position. He was first elected as a Representative to the House of Assembly in 2009.

Earl life and education

Hector John was born in Salisbury, Dominica. He graduated from the St. Joseph Campus of the Dominica Grammar School, and then earned a B.A. in Information Technology from Monroe College in New York (2009).

Career

John worked in the banana industry for over 16 years, as a statistics officer and information technology assistant. He was active in the Salisbury community as a leader of several organizations, including the Salisbury Catholic Youth Movement and the Salisbury Improvement Committee.

John entered politics as a candidate for the Salisbury parliamentary constituency in the 2009 general election, on the ticket of the opposition United Workers' Party. John won against the Labour Party candidate Bentley Royer on 18 December 2009, with 817 to 512 votes (60.7% to 38.1%); the overall results left the UWP with only three of the twenty-one seats.

John subsequently joined the UWP boycott of the House of Assembly, in protest against alleged election irregularities. After John did not attend three consecutive sessions, Speaker of the House Alix Boyd Knights declared his and another UWP seat vacant in April, and a by-election was scheduled for 9 July 2010. John again ran and won against Royer for the Salisbury constituency in the by-election, with 772 votes to Royer's 415 (64.4% to 34.6%).

John was sworn in as Leader of the Opposition on 19 July 2010 and continued in office until 8 December 2014. He has served as a Vice President of the United Workers' Party from November 2016 to present.

He has also served as President of the Salisbury Improvement Committee, Dominica; Chairman of the National Youth Council, Dominica; and as a Member of the Cricket Youth Team, Dominica.