On February 7, 1951, Governor Leonard Peters, in an extraordinary meeting of the Parliament, said: "A new era has now begun for the Netherlands Antilles [whereby] full responsibility for internal governance is transferred to you members of Parliament."
With this, our internal autonomy became a reality and also made it possible to hold the first election for the Island Council (June 4, 1951). First, on March 14, 1951, the Islands Regulation of the Netherlands Antilles (ERNA) came into effect to regulate the decentralization of the Dutch Caribbean and distribute tasks between central governance (Government Council) and island governance.
It is regrettable that many people insistently repeat that autonomy began with the signing of the Statute on December 15, 1954 (1).
The Interim Regulation (IR) of February 7, 1951, also brought about a significant change in the balance of power among the islands. Before the IR, the distribution of seats in the Parliament of the Netherlands Antilles was 8 for Curaçao, 8 for Aruba, 2 for Bonaire, 1 for Saba, 1 for St. Eustatius, and 1 for St. Maarten. With the introduction of the IR, the distribution became: 12 for Curaçao, 8 for Aruba, 1 for Bonaire, and 1 for the Windward Islands.
IR, which was indeed the new name for our constitution, introduced for the first time an executive power with ministerial responsibility, namely the Government Council. Mr. Dr. Moises Frumencio da Costa Gomez (Doctor) was the first President of the Government Council, in other words, the first Prime Minister of our country. Before the Government Council, we knew a total of 4 Boards of General Administration from 1949-1951.
Dr. Gomez, from the time of his party Curaçaosche Roomsch Katholieke Partij, was instrumental in reaching the IR.
It is in his honor that February 7th is named Autonomy Day.
Alex David Rosaria (53) is a freelance consultant active in Asia & Pacific. He is a former Member of Parliament, Minister of Economic Affairs, State Secretary of Finance and UN Implementation Officer in Africa and Central America. He’s from Curaçao and has a MBA from the University of Iowa. (USA).
