Franklin Meyers Tapped as Minister of Economic Affairs, Tourism, Transportation and Telecommunications for St. Maarten

Franklin Meyers Tapped as Minister of Economic Affairs, Tourism, Transportation and Telecommunications for St. Maarten

The forecast is bright for St. Maarten as the island changed its status in October 2010 from an island territory of the Netherlands Antilles to an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. With this change, the Honorable Franklin Meyers was named the new Minster of Economic Affairs, Tourism, Transportation and Telecommunications.

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands will remain head of state, while The Hague will continue to be in charge of overseeing foreign affairs and defense. Furthermore, the people of St. Maarten remain Dutch nationals, with Dutch passports.

From 1999 to 2007, Meyers was a member of the Island Council of the Island Territory of St. Maarten; member of the Executive Council, holding the position of Commissioner of Public Health, Telecommunications & Sports; and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Smitcoms.

From 2007 up until his appointment as Minister, Meyers was Chief Executive Officer and shareholder of M&M Mortuary and Crematorium and Silverback Trucking & Construction.

Starting out with the oldest political party on the island, the Democratic Party (DP), Minister Meyers has been involved in politics for more than 10 years. This party was co-founded by the late Dr. Claude Wathey and Clem Labega more than 55 years ago.

Meyers became a member of the Island Council and a commissioner in the executive branch of government under the DP. After taking a break from politics, Meyers decided to join forces with Theo Heyliger, the grandson of the late Dr. Claude Wathey, to form the United Peoples party (UP) in the summer of 2010.