Bruce Golding

Bruce Golding ( born December 5, 1947 in Chapelton in Clarendon Parish, Jamaica ) is a Jamaican politician and leader of the Jamaica Labour Party ( JLP ). It was September 11, 2007 to October 23, 2011 Prime Minister of his country.

Golding attended the University of the West Indies, where he graduated with a Bachelor in Economics in 1969. He was first elected to parliament in 1972. His constituency, West Saint Catherine, he held there for 19 years, with interruptions. In 1980 he was appointed senator for the ruling party and was Minister of construction matters. In the election in December 1983, he was West Saint Catherine win again for itself and the JLP and remained Prime Minister until 1989. His constituency he won again in 1989 and was named after the election defeat of his party whose spokesman on economic affairs.

1995 Golding left the JLP and founded the National Democratic Movement, which he unsuccessfully took on the following parliamentary elections. In 2002 he returned to the JLP and was taken in 2003 again their spokesman. He was elected party chairman in 2005. On 3 September 2007 he won the JLP parliamentary elections, thus ending the 18 -year-old dominance of the People's National Party. On September 11, he was sworn in by Governor-General Kenneth Hall as the eighth Prime Minister of Jamaica.

Before the election he had in April 2006 in the Sunday Herald under the headline "No homos! " Stated that " homosexuals have no place in his cabinet " would find out what has been supported by various pastors and a union leader. During a state visit to London in 2008, he said in a BBC interview that the Jamaican culture for a long time was set against homosexuality, but he believes to recognize a change. He further said that his country would but can not be impose on foreign lobby groups values ​​. But Golding was criticized by local LGBT activists.

25 September 2011, he announced in front of the central executive committee of the JLP that he is not ready to stand on the planned for November 2011 Congress for re-election as party leader and will also withdraw from office as Prime Minister as soon as the Congress had chosen a successor. He justified this step with his age and the criticism of his person in connection with the scandal surrounding the extradition trial of the alleged gang leader and drug dealer Christopher Coke to the United States. As the election of Andrew Holness had to Golding's successor as safe as for the election as the new party chairman, no opposition candidates were nominated Golding drew his resignation as Prime Minister before the 23 October 2011.