Culture
Albert Fleming-Romney: the last mayor of Saint-Martin
A profile of Albert Fleming-Romney (1936–2023), mayor of Saint-Martin from 1983 to 2007, who helped steer the move to an Overseas Collectivity.
By SXM Daily ·
Albert Fleming-Romney was the last mayor of Saint-Martin. He led the commune from 1983 until 2007, when the French side became an Overseas Collectivity, and he played a key part in the change of status that reshaped the island's institutions.
Illustrative: Marigot. Photo: Paul Sableman / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
From builder to mayor
Fleming-Romney was born on 22 July 1936. Before entering the town hall, he worked as a bricklayer and then as a building contractor, a background noted by both La 1ère and The Daily Herald when they looked back on his life.
Twenty-four years at the town hall
The Collectivité de Saint-Martin records that he was elected mayor on 13 March 1983. He went on to lead the commune for 24 years, until 2007. He was the last person to hold the title of mayor of Saint-Martin, because the office was replaced when the island became a collectivité.
Steering the change of status
His time in office included the 2003 referendum on the island's future. In 2007, Saint-Martin became an Overseas Collectivity (COM) under Article 74 of the French Constitution, separate from Guadeloupe. La 1ère, RCI and Faxinfo all describe Fleming-Romney as having played a key role in that transition, which gave the French side its own local government.
Remembered by the island
Albert Fleming-Romney died on Wednesday 28 June 2023, aged 86, a few weeks before what would have been his 87th birthday. His death was reported by La 1ère, RCI, Faxinfo and The Daily Herald. Faxinfo published the condolences of Collectivité President Louis Mussington and the territorial councillors. Tributes on both sides of the island remembered him as the man who carried the commune to the threshold of its new status.
Sources
- https://www.com-saint-martin.fr/thematiques/organisation-territoriale/votre-collectivite/histoire-de-la-collectivite
- https://la1ere.franceinfo.fr/guadeloupe/saint-martin/albert-fleming-romney-le-dernier-maire-de-saint-martin-s-est-eteint-a-l-age-de-87-ans-1410302.html
- https://rci.fm/guadeloupe/infos/Politique/Hommages-Albert-Fleming-Romney-le-dernier-maire-de-Saint-Martin-decede-87-ans
- https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/former-mayor-albert-fleming-passes-away
- https://www.worldstatesmen.org/Saint_Martin.html
- https://www.faxinfo.fr/deces-dalbert-fleming-ancien-maire-de-saint-martin-les-condoleances-du-president-louis-mussington-et-des-elus-territoriaux/
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marigot,Saint_Martin(15648526873).jpg
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