Sir John Compton’s family facing tough decision

Government officials in St. Lucia confirmed on Wednesday that they were preparing for the imminent death of Sir John Compton, 82, the first prime minister of St Lucia, as arrangements were being made to return him to the island.{{more}}

Sir John was expected to have returned to St. Lucia as early as Wednesday as doctors at the Le Menard Hospital in Fort de France, Martinique, confirmed they were satisfied there was nothing more they were medically capable of doing to improve the health of the ailing leader.

As a result, it was decided to transfer Sir John by an air ambulance to the Tapion Hospital, where he will remain on life support until his family decides to disconnect it, a St. Lucian official said.

Acting Prime Minister Stephenson King said former prime minister Dr Michael Pilgrim would chair a committee set up with a mandate to review all mechanisms and protocols necessary in the “inevitable event of the passing of Sir John”.

King said the committee would plan a series of activities to celebrate the life of “the Father of the Nation”.

Sir John suffered a series of strokes in May which forced him to hand over day-to-day running of the government to King.

Sir John, who first entered elective politics in 1954, came out of retirement to successfully lead his party into the last general election in December 2006.