Politics
Luc Mercelina: Prime Minister of Sint Maarten
Dr. Luc Mercelina has been Prime Minister of Sint Maarten since 3 May 2024 and leads his second cabinet, sworn in on 26 November 2024. As of 8 October 2026, the Government of Sint Maarten identifies him as Prime Minister.
By SXM Daily ·
Last checked: 14 October 2026
Next check: 14 November 2026
Dr. Luc Mercelina has been Prime Minister of Sint Maarten since 3 May 2024. He founded the Unified Resilient Sint Maarten Movement (URSM) in 2021 and now leads his second cabinet, sworn in on 26 November 2024. As of 8 October 2026, a Government of Sint Maarten press release identifies him as Prime Minister. This profile covers his public roles only.
Photo: Chantal Heijnen / Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
At a glance
- Current office, as of 8 October 2026: Prime Minister of Sint Maarten (Government of Sint Maarten press release)
- Portfolio: Minister of General Affairs, alongside the premiership, in his second cabinet
- Party: Unified Resilient Sint Maarten Movement (URSM), launched 10 October 2021
- First cabinet: sworn in 3 May 2024
- Second cabinet: sworn in 26 November 2024, a URSM, DP, PFP and SAM coalition with 9 of Parliament's 15 seats
Current role
As of 8 October 2026, a Government of Sint Maarten press release names Dr. Luc Mercelina as Prime Minister. In his second cabinet, he is Prime Minister and Minister of General Affairs.
That cabinet was sworn in on 26 November 2024 by Governor Ajamu Baly. Dossier Koninkrijksrelaties, which published the Governor's speech, reported that the coalition is made up of URSM, the Democratic Party (DP), the Party for Progress (PFP) and the Soualiga Action Movement (SAM), with 9 of the 15 seats in Parliament. The cabinet was sworn in for a full term.
Cabinet line-ups can change, so we will check this section again before the next review date.
Medical career
Before entering politics, Mercelina was a general surgeon. According to a St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) release, he qualified as a physician at the Medical University of Maastricht in 1990, worked as a doctor in Curaçao from 1990 to 1992, and trained as a surgeon at University Hospital Leuven in Belgium from 1992 to 1998. After a year as a surgeon in the Netherlands, he moved to Sint Maarten in 1999 and served at SMMC for ten years, until 2009. From 2009 to 2016 he was a surgeon at a large hospital in Belgium and a professor at the Maastricht medical faculty.
SMMC announced in July 2016 that he had returned and resumed his position at the hospital as of Tuesday 5 July 2016. "Sint Maarten is my home, Sint Maarten has been great to me and my family," he said in the release.
Career in public office
Title. Government releases and The Daily Herald refer to him as Dr. Luc Mercelina.
Member of Parliament for UD. He was an MP for the United Democrats (UD). He later left UD and sat as an independent MP, The Daily Herald reported.
United People's party. He ran in the January 2020 snap election on the slate of the United People's (UP) party and became UP's deputy leader. He resigned from UP in a letter dated 13 September 2021.
Founding URSM. On Sunday 10 October 2021, he launched a new party, the Unified Resilient Sint Maarten Movement.
First cabinet. After the election of 11 January 2024, he was appointed formateur, the person who puts the new government together. He and his Council of Ministers were sworn in by Governor Ajamu Baly on 3 May 2024, according to the Government of Sint Maarten.
Snap election and second cabinet. In his speech of 26 November 2024, the Governor said that government lost its majority support in Parliament on 20 May 2024 and that snap elections followed on 19 August 2024. The second Mercelina cabinet was sworn in on 26 November 2024.
Party
He launched URSM in October 2021, after leaving the United People's party. In the second cabinet, URSM governs in coalition with DP, PFP and SAM.
What the role means for residents
The Prime Minister chairs the Council of Ministers and holds the General Affairs portfolio. In plain terms, the Council of Ministers is the group of ministers that governs the country, and the Prime Minister runs its meetings. General Affairs is the ministry the Prime Minister heads personally, on top of chairing the cabinet.
FAQ
Q: Who is the Prime Minister of Sint Maarten?
A: As of 8 October 2026, the Government of Sint Maarten identifies Dr. Luc Mercelina as Prime Minister.
Q: When did Luc Mercelina become Prime Minister?
A: He and his first Council of Ministers were sworn in on 3 May 2024.
Q: When was his second cabinet sworn in?
A: On 26 November 2024, by Governor Ajamu Baly.
Q: Which parties are in his coalition?
A: URSM, the Democratic Party (DP), the Party for Progress (PFP) and the Soualiga Action Movement (SAM), with 9 of 15 seats.
Q: Which party does he lead?
A: The Unified Resilient Sint Maarten Movement (URSM), which he launched on 10 October 2021.
Q: Which parties was he in before URSM?
A: He was an MP for the United Democrats (UD), then sat as an independent, then ran for the United People's (UP) party in 2020 and became its deputy leader.
Sources
- https://www.sintmaartengov.org/news/Pages/press-release.aspx?slug=prime-minister-mercelina-dialogue-with-sol-focused-on-facts-consumer-relief-and-respect-for-regulatory-process
- https://www.sintmaartengov.org/news/Pages/Prime-Minister-Submits-Legal-Advisory-on-Constitutional-Role-of-the-Governor-to-Council-of-Ministers-Governor-and-Parliam.aspx
- https://www.sintmaartengov.org/news/Pages/New-Council-of-Ministers-appointed-and-sworn-in.aspx
- https://dossierkoninkrijksrelaties.nl/2024/11/26/kabinet-mercelina-ii-ingezworen/
- https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/dr-mercelina-launches-ursm-party-wants-to-initiate-change
- https://sxmparliament.org/members/
- https://web.archive.org/web/20241205065117/https://smmc.sx/News/ArticleID/198/Surgeon-Dr-Mercelina-Resumes-Position-at-SMMC