Curaçao has lost a great leader and visionary
WILLEMSTAD - On Saturday morning, the sorrowful news reached us that Mr. Dominico F. Martina, better known as Don Martina, has passed away. Don Martina was one of the founders of the MAN Party on February 6, 1971, and served as the Political Leader of MAN from 1971 to 1999. During his political career, Don held positions as a Deputy, Member of the Island Council of Curaçao, Member of the Parliament of the Netherlands Antilles, Minister, and Prime Minister, leading four Cabinets.
We all remember Don as a leader and visionary whose principles were rooted in Human Dignity, Social Justice, Freedom, and Solidarity—values that remain the cornerstone of the MAN Party to this day. Integrity in governance was a hallmark of Don’s leadership, embodied in the party’s slogan: “MAN Clean in Government.” Don’s political philosophy was always to be “hard on the issue, soft on the person.”
Don was recognized across the Kingdom and the Caribbean as a visionary committed to democracy and the emancipation process. We recall his tenure as Prime Minister during Aruba’s quest for separate status and the various socio-economic and financial challenges faced by the Netherlands Antilles, during which crucial steps were taken to preserve the value of our currency, the florin.
For the MAN Party, Don remained our lifelong leader, consistently contributing to significant processes not only within the party but also for Curaçao, where the MAN Party had to take a stand.
In 2021, Don was honored with a Doctor Honoris Causa recognition from the University of the West Indies, and in 2023, he was named Minister of State for Curaçao in acknowledgment of his extensive work.
On behalf of the members and supporters of the MAN-PIN Party, the board extends our deepest condolences and strength to his wife Suze, his children Helen, Robbin, and Steven, and all other family members, friends, and acquaintances of Curaçao’s leader, Don Martina.
Don will forever live in our hearts, and we will continue to carry forward the prestigious MAN Party with the ideology and philosophy that he instilled and cultivated in us.