Culture

Dennis Richardson: Lieutenant Governor, Council of State member and Justice Minister

A profile of Dennis Richardson, Lieutenant Governor of Sint Maarten from 1994 to 2000, the country's first member of the Kingdom Council of State and Minister of Justice from 2013 to 2015.

By SXM Daily · October 22, 2026

Dennis Richardson has held some of the most senior posts in Sint Maarten's public life: Lieutenant Governor of the island territory, a member of the Council of State of the Kingdom for Sint Maarten, and Minister of Justice. He was born on Aruba on 9 January 1946, according to Parlement.com and the Dutch government.

Career in the Netherlands

According to Parlement.com, Richardson worked as a municipal civil servant in Zandvoort and Haarlem and at the provincial registry of Noord-Holland, later directing a coordination bureau for six cities in the Randstad.

Lieutenant Governor

He returned in 1994 as Lieutenant Governor (gezaghebber) of St. Maarten and held the post until 21 September 2000. As Lieutenant Governor he chaired the committee that established the result of the 2000 referendum on the island's future status, according to Parlement.com and SMN News.

Constitutional reform

From 2004 he was project director and adviser for the constitutional reform that made Sint Maarten a country within the Kingdom, and he was part of the island's negotiating team, SMN News recorded.

Advisory Council and Council of State

On 10 October 2010, the day Sint Maarten became a country, he joined its Advisory Council (Raad van Advies). The Kingdom Council of Ministers approved his nomination to the Council of State of the Kingdom on 25 March 2011, and he served as a member for Sint Maarten from October 2011 to June 2013.

Minister of Justice

He left the Council of State in 2013 to become Minister of Justice, serving from 14 June 2013 to 19 November 2015, first in the Wescot-Williams cabinet and then, as The Daily Herald reported in December 2014, in the cabinet of Marcel Gumbs.

Sources

https://www.parlement.com/biografie/dl-dennis-richardson
https://www.opennieuwsbank.nl/rijksoverheid/2011/03/25/benoeming-lid-raad-van-state-van-het-koninkrijk-voor-sint-maarten
https://smn-news.com/st-maarten-st-martin-news/4310-smn-news-person-of-the-year-mr-dennis-richardson-his-dedication-towards-obtaining-country-status-for-st-maarten.html
https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/council-of-ministers-nominate-maria-plantz-for-position-on-kingdom-council-of-state
https://sxmelections.com/news/5197/new-gumbs-cabinet-to--be-sworn-in-on-friday

Source: https://www.parlement.com/biografie/dl-dennis-richardson