Culture

Eugene Holiday, Sint Maarten's first Governor (2010–2022)

Eugene Holiday served as Sint Maarten's first Governor from 10 October 2010 to 10 October 2022, two terms that began the day the country was created.

By SXM Daily · October 16, 2026

Eugene Holiday was the first Governor of Sint Maarten. He held the post for twelve years, from 10 October 2010, the day Sint Maarten became a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, until 10 October 2022.

Official portrait of Eugene Holiday, Governor of Sint Maarten, 2015

Photo: Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Early life and education

Holiday was born on St. Maarten on 14 December 1962, the fourth of seven children of Eugene Bernard Holiday Sr. and Leone Cassandra Marsham, according to the Cabinet of the Governor's official biography.

He went to the Oranje School and St. Joseph School in Philipsburg, then to Milton Peters College. In July 1979 he left for the Netherlands, where he finished secondary school at Canisius College-Mater Dei in Nijmegen in 1982. In 1987 he graduated in economics (drs.) from the Catholic University of Brabant in Tilburg.

Career before 2010

Central Bank of the Netherlands Antilles: from September 1987 he worked as an analyst, then head of research and monetary policy, then deputy director.
Winair: from May 1995 he was Managing Director of Windward Island Airways for almost three years.
Princess Juliana International Airport: from February 1998 he was President Director of the airport's operating company for more than 12 years.

These steps are set out in the Governor's official biography.

Public roles

Governor of Sint Maarten, 10 October 2010 – 10 October 2022

Queen Beatrix swore him in on Thursday 30 September 2010, at the same ceremony as Frits Goedgedrag, the incoming Governor of Curaçao, according to the Cabinet of the Governor.
He took office on 10 October 2010, when the Netherlands Antilles were dissolved and Sint Maarten became an autonomous country.
He served two terms. The Daily Herald reported in August 2022 that his second term would end on 10 October 2022 and that he would retire.

Successor

King Willem-Alexander swore in Ajamu Baly as the new Governor on 4 October 2022, with effect from 10 October 2022, according to the Royal House of the Netherlands.

In office

Releases from the Cabinet of the Governor record some of his public duties:

Integrity inquiry (2013–2014): he installed a steering committee on 4 December 2013, commissioned PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in New York to carry out the inquiry, and on 25 August 2014 submitted the final report on the functioning of the Government of Sint Maarten to the Kingdom Council of Ministers. Source: Cabinet of the Governor, 25 August 2014: https://web.archive.org/web/2020/https://www.kabgsxm.com/news-entry.aspx?id_news=107&language=EN
Official visit to Trinidad and Tobago (1–2 June 2017): he met President Anthony Carmona and government ministers. Source: Cabinet of the Governor, 6 June 2017: https://web.archive.org/web/2020/https://www.kabgsxm.com/news-entry.aspx?id_news=165&language=EN
Hurricane Irma (5 September 2017): as Irma approached, he delivered a national address titled "Draw from our Collective Strength". Source: Cabinet of the Governor, 5 September 2017: https://web.archive.org/web/2020/https://www.kabgsxm.com/news-entry.aspx?id_news=167&language=EN
Working visit to Saint Lucia (22–23 May 2019): he met the Deputy Governor-General and Prime Minister Allan Chastanet, and visited the OECS headquarters. Source: Cabinet of the Governor, 24 May 2019: https://web.archive.org/web/2020/https://www.kabgsxm.com/news-entry.aspx?id_news=192&language=EN
Governor's Symposium (21 June 2019): he announced the speakers for the 8th annual Governor's Symposium, on shaping sustainable economic recovery. Source: Cabinet of the Governor, 7 June 2019: https://web.archive.org/web/2020/https://www.kabgsxm.com/news-entry.aspx?id_news=194&language=EN
Government formation (November 2019): on 16 November 2019 he received the final report of formateur Silveria Jacobs for an interim government. Source: Cabinet of the Governor, 17 November 2019: https://web.archive.org/web/2020/https://www.kabgsxm.com/news-entry.aspx?id_news=201&language=EN

Honours and later work

On 23 September 2022, at a farewell reception in the Grote Kerk in The Hague, State Secretary Alexandra van Huffelen presented him with the insignia of Commander in the Order of Orange-Nassau, according to the Dutch government.

According to the Holiday Institute, he wrote Lionel Bernard Scott, A Symbol of Strength, a biography of the builder and politician Lionel Bernard Scot (revised edition December 2022), and founded the Holiday Institute, launched in 2024.

What the Governor does

The Governor represents the King in Sint Maarten's government. Under the Constitution of Sint Maarten, the ministers, not the Governor, answer to Parliament for government policy.

Sources

https://www.kabgsxm.com/news-entry.aspx?id_news=31&language=NL
https://web.archive.org/web/2019/https://www.kabgsxm.com/about-the-governor.aspx?language=EN
https://www.opennieuwsbank.nl/rijksoverheid/2022/09/23/koninklijke-onderscheiding-voor-vertrekkend-gouverneur-sint-maarten
https://www.holiday-institute.com/product/lionel-bernard-scott-a-symbol-of-strength/
https://www.koninklijkhuis.nl/actueel/nieuws/2022/10/04/koning-ontvangt-gouverneur-sint-maarten-ter-beediging
https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/ajamu-baly-will-be-new-st-maarten-governor
https://web.archive.org/web/2020/https://www.kabgsxm.com/news-entry.aspx?id_news=107&language=EN
https://web.archive.org/web/2020/https://www.kabgsxm.com/news-entry.aspx?id_news=165&language=EN
https://web.archive.org/web/2020/https://www.kabgsxm.com/news-entry.aspx?id_news=167&language=EN
https://web.archive.org/web/2020/https://www.kabgsxm.com/news-entry.aspx?id_news=192&language=EN
https://web.archive.org/web/2020/https://www.kabgsxm.com/news-entry.aspx?id_news=194&language=EN
https://web.archive.org/web/2020/https://www.kabgsxm.com/news-entry.aspx?id_news=201&language=EN
https://www.sintmaartengov.org/Ministries/Campaigns/Documents/AB%201_Staatsregeling%20English%20%281%29.pdf

Source: https://www.kabgsxm.com/news-entry.aspx?id_news=31&language=NL