Grenada’s new Prime Minister, Hon. Tillman Thomas, took the Oath of Office and the Oath of Allegiance yesterday (Wednesday July 09, 2008) during a swearing in ceremony which took place at the Grenada Trade Center in Grand Anse, St. George’s. The ceremony was attended my members of the diplomatic corps, the business community, civil society and a large contingent of party supporters. In addressing the gathering, Prime Minister Thomas spoke about a new dawn for democracy in the tri-island state. He informed his audience that his government will be one that practices inclusion and will be partnering with the major stakeholders in the country with a view to charting the way forward for Grenada. He also alluded to the fact that transparency and accountability will always be high on his agenda as Prime Minister of the country. Mr. Tillman Thomas, an attorney by profession, was a political detainee during the period of the Grenada Revolution before he was freed in 1983. His freedom from the Richmond Hill penal facility occurred after Grenada’s flirtation with Marxism came to an end following a military invasion of the island by United States and Caribbean troops to suppress a hard-line Marxist faction that had overthrown the revolutionary government and executed some of its leaders. Thomas has since been involved in active politics and has found himself on both sides of the benches in the House of Representatives over the years. He was able to successfully organize his National Democratic Congress party (NDC) and win seven of the fifteen seats that were up for grabs in the 2003 general election, becoming the Leader of Her Majesty’s Opposition. The NDC was able to increase its momentum and popular support since then, resulting in its landslide victory in the July 08 polls - winning 11 out of the 15 seats, with the remaining 4 seats won by outgoing Prime Minister and soon to be Opposition Leader, Dr. Keith Mitchell. Many of the supporters who attended the ceremony spoke very highly about the new Prime Minister and had very high expectations for the new government. The new cabinet is expected to be sworn in sometime during the next few days. By Wallace J. A Inside Grenada News