Chris Wever.
POND ISLAND--Current Cabinet Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI, Chris Wever is tipped to become the ministry’s next minister. The vetting of Wever to replace outgoing Minister Miklos Giterson is said to be close to completion.
Wever will be the country’s 11th VROMI minister since country within the kingdom status was gained almost nine years ago, should all go well with his screening and appointment.
Wever will not succeed only Giterson, who served in two cabinets. He will follow in the post of now suspended Member of Parliament (MP) Theo Heyliger (the first person to hold the post upon its creation in 2010), current MP William Marlin (who held the post twice in different cabinets), now Head of the Department of Communications Maurice Lake, former Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs, now Head of the National Recovery Programme Bureau Claret Connor, civil servant Angel Meyers and MP Christophe Emmanuel.
Wever has been the chief of cabinet since January 2018. He had held several other positions in government, including on the supervisory board of St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies, and in the private sector prior to his current posting.
He is a graduate of Florida-based St. Thomas University from which he holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology.
Giterson was asked by the United Democrats/St. Maarten Christian Party coalition to resign after he was convicted by the Court of First Instance for driving under the influence of alcohol. After an initial resistance due to his appealing his sentence, Giterson cleared the way for a new candidate to be vetted for his post.
The Leona Romeo-Marlin Cabinet will still be missing a minister when/if Wever is sworn in by Governor Eugene Holiday. The post of Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labour VSA that was vacated by Emil Lee after Parliament passed a motion of no-confidence against him is still vacant.
A candidate for VSA has not yet been put forward by the coalition for security and integrity screening. Former MP Dr. Lloyd Richardson is said to be under consideration for the post, according to people close to the issue.
