In 1995 the government was defeated in elections by the United Workers Party of Edison James. James became prime minister, serving until the February 2000 elections, when the Dominica United Workers Party (DUWP) was defeated by the Dominica Labour Party (DLP), led by Rosie Douglas. He was a former socialist activist, and many feared that his approach to politics might be impractical. However, these were somewhat quieted when he formed a coalition with the more conservative Dominica Freedom Party. Douglas died suddenly after only eight months in office, on October 1, 2000, and was replaced by Pierre Charles, also of the DLP. In 2003, Nicholas Liverpool was elected and sworn in as president, succeeding Vernon Shaw. On January 6, 2004, Prime Minister Pierre Charles, who had been suffering from heart problems since 2003, died. He became the second consecutive prime minister of Dominica to die in office of a heart attack. The foreign minister, Osborne Riviere immediately became prime minister, but the education minister, Roosevelt Skerrit succeeded him as prime minister and became the new leader of the Dominica Labour Party. Elections were held on May 5, 2005, with the ruling coalition maintaining power.
In 1995 the government was defeated in elections by the United Workers Party of Edison James. James became prime minister, serving until the February 2000 elections, when the Dominica United Workers Party (DUWP) ,was defeated by the Dominica Labour Party (DLP), led by Rosie Douglas. He was a former socialist activist, and many feared that his approach to politics might be impractical. However, these were somewhat quieted when he formed a coalition with the more conservative Dominica Freedom Party. Douglas died suddenly after only eight months in office, on October 1, 2000 and was replaced by Pierre Charles, also of the DLP. In 2003, Nicholas Liverpool was elected and sworn in as president, succeeding Vernon Shaw. On January 6, 2004, Prime Minister Pierre Charles, who had been suffering from heart problems since 2003, died. He became the second consecutive prime minister of Dominica to die in office of a heart attack. The foreign minister, Osborne Riviere immediately became prime minister, but the education minister, Roosevelt Skerrit succeeded him as prime minister and became the new leader of the Dominica Labour Party. Elections were held on May 5, 2005, with the ruling coalition maintaining power.