Frederick Eutrope Degazon (born January 4, 1913) was the first President of Dominica. He was born in Castries

Castries

Castries , population 10,634, aggl. 37,963 , is the capital city of Saint Lucia, a country in the Caribbean. The district with the same name had a population of 61,341 in 2001-05-22, and stretches over an area of ....

, Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia is an island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 620 km2 and has an...

 and is currently living in exile in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

.

Degazon went to college in Saint Lucia and studied law in the University of London

University of London

-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...

. In the 1940s he served as a civil servant in Dominica, Saint Lucia and Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

 until his retirement in 1969. He was elected Speaker of the House of Assembly

House of Assembly of Dominica

The House of Assembly is the legislature of Dominica. It is established by Chapter III of the Constitution of Dominica, and together with the President of Dominica constitutes Dominica's Parliament. The House is unicameral, and consists of twenty-one Representatives, nine Senators, and an...

 in 1977 and after declaration of independence in 1978, parliament elected Degazon as first President of Dominica. The post was largely ceremonial.

In June 1979, during a constitutional crisis stirred by need for democratic socialist reforms, Degazon tried to leave the country and was eventually allowed to flee to England. The House of Assembly elected Jenner Armour as his replacement. Degazon officially resigned in February 1980.