Island Council Members Archive
A historical record of all elected Island Council members, from 1951 to the present.
Vincent A. Lopes
Born: 09 October 1916
Date of Passing: 24 April 1984
Years of Service:
● 1951-1971
● 1972 - 1975
Political Party: Democratic Party (DP)
Leonard E. Sadler
Born: 25 August 1898
Date of Passing: 23 November 1970
Years of Service:
● 1951-1966
Political Party: Democratic Party (DP)
G. Andrea T. Heyliger
Born: 25 August 1898
Date of Passing: 23 November 1970
Years of Service:
● 1951-1955
Political Party: Democratic Party (DP)
Carl G. Buncamper
Born: 10 Jan 1905
Date of Passing: 22 December 1988
Years of Service:
● 1951-1971
● 1972 - 1975
Political Party: Democratic Party (DP)
Cecil C.L. Sprott
Born: 13 April 1892
Date of Passing: 04 October 1954
Years of Service:
● 1951-1954
Political Party: Union Reformista Antiliano (URA)
James H. Hooker
Born: 23 June 1894
Date of Passing: 30 June 1980
Years of Service:
● 1954-1959
● 1972 - 1975
Political Party: Union Reformista Antiliano (URA)
Charles A. Woodley
Born: 13 November 1924
Date of Passing: 27 November 1980
Years of Service:
● 1955 - 1980
Political Party: Democratic Party (DP)
Albert Schmidt
Born: 28 March 1924
Date of Passing: 19 July 1975
Years of Service:
● 1959 - 1963
Political Party: Democratic Party (DP)
A. Kenneth van Putten
Born: 29 Jan 1937
Date of Passing: 04 September 2014
Years of Service:
● 1966-1972
● 1979 - 1999
Political Party: Democratic Party (DP)
Ralph A. Berkel
Born: 06 December 1938
Date of Passing: 11 July 2017
Years of Service:
● 1967 - 1995
Political Party: Winward Islands People's Movement (WIPM)
Clifton W. Berkel
Born: 02 October 1930
Date of Passing: 02 February 2012
Years of Service:
● 1971-1975
Political Party: Windward Islands People's Movement (WIPM)
Eric E. Henriquez
Born: 25 November 1933
Date of Passing: 11 November 2023
Years of Service:
● 1971-1991
Political Party: Windward Islands People's Movement (WIPM)
Harold O. Berkel
Born: 15 December 1917
Date of Passing: 29 October 1996
Years of Service:
● 1975-1979
Political Party: Democratic Party (DP)
Gifford Duinkerk
Born: 09 February 1916
Date of Passing: 12 January 1981
Years of Service:
● 1979 - 1981
Political Party: Winward Islands People's Movement (WIPM)
Charles T. Hooker
Born: 04 May 1940
Date of Passing: 23 May 2006
Years of Service:
● 1980 - 1983
Political Party: Democratic Party (DP)
Walton A. Schmidt
Born: 05 October 1939
Years of Service:
● 1981 - 1983
Political Party: Windward Islands People's Movement (WIPM)
Neuman N. Pompier
Born: 17 August 1952
Date of Passing: 02 July 2019
Years of Service:
● 1983 - 1991
Political Party: Democratic Party (DP)
Julian C.A. Woodley
Born: 19 March 1952
Years of Service:
● 1983 - 2011
Political Party: Democratic Party (DP)
Ingrid F. Whitfield
Born: 07 November 1954
Years of Service:
● 1991 - 2003
Political Party: Sint Eustatius Alliance (SEA)
Leonora Sneek - Gibbs
Born: 22 October 1949
Date of Passing: 23 May 2022
Years of Service:
● 1991 - 1994
Political Party: Democratic Party (DP)
Edris D.C. Bennett - Merkman
Born: 04 April 1966
Years of Service:
● 1994 - 1999
Political Party: Democratic Party (DP)
Clyde I. van Putten
Born: 28 September 1962
Years of Service:
● 1995 - 2011
● 2015 - 2018
● 2020 - present
Political Party: Windward Islands People's Movement (WIPM), Sint Eustatius Alliance (SEA), Progressive Labor Party (PLP)
Louise M. Brown
Born: 25 February 1954
Date of Passing: 12 June 2019
Years of Service:
● 1999 - 2003
Political Party: Sint Eustatius Alliance (SEA)
Roy J.M.A Hooker
Born: 30 September 1958
Years of Service:
● 1999 - 2011
Political Party: Democratic Party (DP)
Franklin A. Brown
Born: 15 April 1954
Years of Service:
● 2003 - 2007
Political Party: Progressive Labor Party (PLP), Sint Eustatius Empowerment Party (STEP)
Frini E. Adelka Spanner
Born: 25 September 1958
Years of Service:
● 2003 - 2011
● 2012 - 2023
Political Party: Democratic Party (DP)
Reginald C. Zaandam
Born: 24 August 1948
Years of Service:
● 2007 - 2013
Political Party: Democratic Party (DP), United People's Coalition (UPC)
Nicolaas Sneek
Born: 08 February 1951
Years of Service:
● 2011 - 2012
● 2015 - 2018
● 2020 - 2023
Political Party: Democratic Party (DP), Independent
Reuben E. Merkman
Born: 14 September 1963
Years of Service:
● 2011 - 2018
● 2020 - 2023
Political Party: Democratic Party (DP), Independent, Progressive Labor Party (PLP)
Millicent V. Lijfrock - Marsdin
Born: 24 September 1959
Years of Service:
● 2011 - 2015
Political Party: Progressive Labor Party (PLP)
Elvin J. Henriquez
Born: 23 October 1965
Years of Service:
● 2013 - 2015
Political Party: United People's Coalition (UPC)
Rechelline M.C. Leerdam
Born: 09 April 1986
Years of Service:
● 2015 - 2018
● 2020 - 2024
Political Party: Progressive Labor Party (PLP)
Glenville W. Schmidt
Born: 04 June 1959
Years of Service:
● 2023 - present
Political Party: Progressive Labor Party (PLP)
Raquel A. Spanner
Born: 18 October 1979
Years of Service:
● 2023 - present
Political Party: Democratic Party (DP)
C.A. Mercedes Lopes - Spanner
Born: 13 November 1963
Years of Service:
● 2023 - present
Political Party: Democratic Party (DP)
Derrick A.U. Simmons
Born: 20 October 1965
Years of Service:
● 2024 - present
Political Party: Progressive Labor Party (PLP)
Legacy of Leadership: 75 Years of Democratic Representation
