Dame Mary Eugenia Charles (15 May 1919 - 6 September 2005) was born in the fishing village of Pointe Michel in Dominica. She attended the Convent School, the island's only girls' secondary school, and became interested in law while working at the colonial magistrate's court. She attended university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada before moving to the United Kingdom to attend the London School of Econimics. She returned to Dominica, where she became the island's first female lawyer, establishing a practice specialising in property law.
Charles began campaigning in politics during the 1960s against restrictions on press freedom. She helped to found the Dominica Freedom Party, and was its leader from the early 1970s until 1995. She was elected to the House of Assembly in 1970 and became Opposition Leader in 1975. She continued serving after Dominica gained full independence from British rule in 1978.
Charles and her party were considered conservative by Caribbean standards. However, many of her policies appeared centrist or even leftist by American standards; for instance she did support some social welfare programmes. Other issues that were important to her were anti-corruption measures and individual freedom. For her uncompromising stance on this and other issues, she became known as the "Iron Lady of the Caribbean" (after the original "Iron Lady", Magaet Thatcher).
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