| Honorific Prefix: | The Right Honourable |
| Robert Milton Cato | |
| Order: | 1st |
| Office: | Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
| Governor General: | Sir Sydney Gun-Munro |
| Term Start: | 27 October 1979 |
| Term End: | 30 July 1984 |
| Predecessor: | Himself (As Premier) |
| Successor: | Sir James Fitz-Allen Mitchell |
| Office1: | 1st Premier of Saint Vincent |
| Monarch1: | Elizabeth II |
| Governor1: | Rupert Godfrey John Sir Sydney Gun-Munro |
| Term Start1: | 8 December 1974 |
| Term End1: | 27 October 1979 |
| Predecessor1: | Sir James Fitz-Allen Mitchell |
| Successor1: | Himself (As Prime Minister) |
| Monarch2: | Elizabeth II |
| Governor2: | Hywel George Rupert Godfrey John |
| Term Start2: | 27 October 1969 |
| Term End2: | April 1972 |
| Predecessor2: | Himself (As Chief Minister) |
| Successor2: | Sir James Fitz-Allen Mitchell |
| Office3: | 2nd Chief Minister of Saint Vincent |
| Term Start3: | 30 May 1967[1] |
| Term End3: | 27 October 1969 |
| Monarch3: | Elizabeth II |
| 1Blankname3: | Administrator |
| 1Namedata3: | Hywel George |
| Predecessor3: | Ebenezer Joshua |
| Successor3: | Himself (As Premier) |
| Office4: | Minister of Finance |
| Term Start4: | 30 May 1967 |
| Term End4: | 14 April 1972 |
| Primeminister4: | himself |
| Predecessor4: | Ebenezer Joshua |
| Successor4: | Ebenezer Joshua |
| Term Start5: | 8 December 1974 |
| Term End5: | 30 July 1984 |
| Primeminister5: | himself |
| Predecessor5: | Ebenezer Joshua |
| Successor5: | James Fitz-Allen Mitchell |
| Birth Date: | 1915 6, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Saint Vincent, British Windward Islands |
| Death Place: | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
| Party: | Saint Vincent Labour Party |
Robert Milton Cato,, (3 June 1915 – 10 February 1997) was a socialist Vincentian politician who served as the first Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and also held the offices Premier of Saint Vincent and Chief Minister of Saint Vincent before independence. Cato was the leader of the Saint Vincent Labour Party, and led the country through independence in 1979.[2]
Robert Milton Cato was born in Saint Vincent, British Windward Islands on 3 June 1915. He attended the St. Vincent Grammar School from 1928 to 1933. On leaving school, the young Cato was articled to a Barrister-at-law in Kingstown, and began his career in law and was called to the Bar, Middle Temple in 1948. In 1945, he joined the First Canadian Army, attained the rank of Sergeant and gave active service in the Second World War in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany. Robert Milton Cato was married to Lucy-Ann Alexandra Cato.
After returning to Saint Vincent, Cato became involved in politics. In 1955 he co-founded the Saint Vincent Labour Party.
Elected to the office of Chief Minister on 19 May 1967, as head of the St. Vincent Labour Party, Mr. Cato did much to improve the economic standing of the island. He was St. Vincent's first Premier on the island's entry to Statehood on 27 October 1969. Cato held the additional portfolio of Minister of Finance. He was out of government during the period 1972 to 1974 following his party's defeat. Cato's Labour Party lost elections in 1972 and the opposition leader, James Fitz-Allen Mitchell became Premier. Cato was appointed leader of the opposition from 1972 to 1974.[3] Cato's party and its coalition partners won elections in 1974, and he became the premier and minister of finance again.
Robert Milton Cato led Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to complete independence from Britain on 27 October 1979, and is known as 'The Father of Independence'. He took the offices of Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.[4] Mr. Cato, the longtime representative of the West St. George Constituency, was appointed leader of the opposition from August to November 1984 following his party's defeat in the general elections. He then retired from active politics. He died on 10 February 1997 at the age of 81. His hope was for unity in Vincentian society and a brighter future for the people. The Kingstown General Hospital was renamed The Milton Cato Memorial Hospital in his honour in October 2000.
Encyclopedia: Oxford University Press. Fraser. Adrian. Cato, (Robert) Milton (1915–1997). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford. 2007.