Honourable Dr Ernest Hilaire, Saint Lucia’s Minister for Tourism, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture and Information. 

Ernest Hilarie is a Saint Lucian politician who represents Castries South constituency in the House of Assembly for the Saint Lucia Labour Party and is currently the Minister for Tourism, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture and Information and Deputy Prime Minister.

In the early 1990s Hilaire completed his Bachelor of Science degree at the Cave Hill campus of the University of the West Indies. Hilaire’s aspiration to become involved in international politics and help address and provide solutions to global problems sprang from the same fertile ideological soil that would motivate him to join the Foreign Service upon his graduation in 1993.

After serving one year as a Foreign Service cadet, Hilaire earned his Master of Philosophy degree in 1995, with a distinction in International Relations, from Darwin College, Cambridge University, England. Hilaire later earned his PhD at the London School of Economics. He also holds an Executive Diploma in Negotiations and Conflict Resolution from Notre Dame University.

Dr Hilaire has a wide range of experiences that span politics, sports, management and diplomacy. He served as Personal Assistant to Prime Minister Dr Kenny Anthony in 1997 and in 1999 became Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth and Sports.  In 2005, he was given the responsibility of managing Saint Lucia’s hosting of ICC World Cup 2007.  His success in that endeavour led to his appointment as the Tournament Director for the ICC World Twenty20 2010. He also served as the Chief Executive Officer of the West Indies Cricket Board.

Hilaire was appointed Saint Lucia’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom in November 2012. He is also a former chairman of the Citizenship Investment Programme (CIP).