GREAT BAY--Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Melissa Gumbs says the long-running question of formally establishing a national anthem for St. Maarten is now included in a draft National Symbols Framework prepared by the Department of Culture, with public consultation expected to form part of the process.
Gumbs told Parliament that she agrees it is time for St. Maarten to have a formally established national anthem that people can stand for with pride. She said the issue is especially relevant at official functions, including the opening of Parliament, where the absence of a legally established anthem continues to highlight an unfinished part of the country’s national symbols framework.
According to the Minister, the draft National Symbols Framework is currently under review and is intended to provide Government with a starting point for clarifying the anthem’s constitutional and legal status, as well as the steps required to formally establish it. Gumbs said the framework lays the groundwork for moving the process forward with the necessary legal care, public involvement and formal recognition.
During the clarification round, Member of Parliament Egbert Doran also supported finally settling the anthem issue, while cautioning against making changes without the involvement of the public. Doran said St. Maarteners have identified with the existing song for many years and suggested that the population should have a direct opportunity to express its opinion, potentially through some form of referendum or voting mechanism. Doran also indicated that he would prefer the final decision to reflect the view of the majority, rather than having the matter determined without broad public participation.
Gumbs responded that public consultation would indeed form part of the process. She also clarified that she had not said the existing song would simply be changed.Ifanother version or arrangement were ever considered, she said, that too would have to follow an established process. The Minister added that Government would also engage with the owners of the existing song.
The discussion followed a renewed call one day earlier from Member of Parliament Franklin Meyers, who told Parliament that after 16 years as a country within the Kingdom, St. Maarten should no longer leave the national anthem question unresolved.
Meyers raised the matter during the handling of the draft 2027 national budget and pointed to official ceremonies where attendees currently rise for both the Wilhelmus and the St. Maarten Song.
He argued that as part of nation building and strengthening national pride, St. Maarten should reach the point where those attending official ceremonies are simply asked to rise for the national anthem of St. Maarten.
Meyers stressed that his intervention was not necessarily about deciding which composition should be chosen, but about completing the formal process and establishing an anthem.
He referenced “O Sweet St. Martin’s Land” while making the broader point that Government and Parliament should finally determine what composition will formally serve as the country’s anthem.
The song, composed by Father Gerard Kemps in 1958, has long been associated with the identity of the island and is regularly performed at official and cultural events, but it has never been formally established as the national anthem through the required legal process.
The question has remained unresolved since St. Maarten attained country status on October 10, 2010. Previous efforts to formalize an anthem included a 2011 initiative under then Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Dr. Rhoda Arrindell, who argued that the Constitution required a national anthem to be established through national ordinance. That process was never completed.
Gumbs’ latest statements now place the issue within an active policy framework. With the national anthem included in the draft National Symbols Framework, public consultation expected and Members of Parliament again pushing for the matter to be resolved, the discussion has moved back onto Government’s agenda after years without a final decision.
