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John Percy
deJongh, Jr. was inaugurated as the seventh Governor
of the United States Virgin Islands on January 1,
2007.
John Percy deJongh,
Jr. was born on November 13, 1957 and was raised on St. Thomas where he attended St. Peter and Paul School. He graduated from Catholic Central High School in Detroit and received a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Economics from Antioch College (Yellow Spring, Ohio) in 1981.
DeJongh returned to the Virgin Islands to join the Tri-Island Economic Development Council and was then hired by Chase Manhattan Bank. During his six years there, deJongh became the first Country Consumer Manager responsible for all consumer banking products in the U.S. Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands
(BVI) and St. Maarten. Under his leadership, Chase installed the first off-site ATMs, increased home mortgage lending, and changed the bank’s focus to consumer lending in the
BVI.
In 1984 deJongh was appointed to the Industrial Development Commission, and in 1987 he was appointed as the youngest Commissioner of Finance. DeJongh also served as Chairman of the Governing Board of the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority and Executive Director of the Virgin Islands Public Finance Authority.
In 1993, deJongh reentered the private sector as a Senior Managing Consultant for Public Financial Management, Inc. where he helped develop and implement Five-Year Plans for the cities of Philadelphia, New Haven, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C., all of which dramatically improved their financial standing as a result of implementing these management initiatives. DeJongh served as President, Chief Operating Officer, and Director of Lockhart Companies Incorporated, a real estate and insurance holding company with properties and businesses in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands, and Turks & Caicos. He also served three terms as President of the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce and the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands, a philanthropic organization focused on children and families.
DeJongh has served as Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands since January 1, 2007. During his tenure, he has championed early childhood education issues and established the Children and Families Council, and pushed for economic diversification of the four islands that comprise the US Virgin Islands. He has instituted a Government-wide Energy Demand Reduction Program to reduce the Territory’s dependency on fossil fuels and has advanced the use of alternative and renewable energy sources in the Territory.
DeJongh and his wife, Cecile René Galiber, of St. Croix, are the proud parents of three children, John III, René and Julian.
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