Hugh Shearer

Hugh Lawson Shearer, ON, OJ ( born May 18, 1923 in Trelawny Parish, Jamaica; † 5 July 2004 in Kingston, Jamaica ) was a Jamaican politician and Prime Minister of Jamaica.

School and career

Shearer was after receiving a scholarship from his native community graduate of St. Simon 's College. He was then in 1941 an employee of the weekly newspaper of the union, The Jamaican worker. After 1943 Alexander Bustamante became editor of the newspaper, it was also his political mentor. Through this promotion he received in 1947 a grant from the Federation of Trade Unions. Over time, he was first elected to the executive staff, and finally as Vice President of the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union ( BITU ).

Political career

Member of Parliament and Senator

Shearer began his political career in 1955 with the election of the Members of the House of Representatives of Jamaica. There he represented until his election defeat in 1959, the interests of the Jamaica Labour Party ( JLP ) for the constituency of Western Kingston.

From 1962 to 1967 he was then a member of the Parliament of the First Chamber, the Senate. At the same time he was appointed by the current Prime Minister Bustamente Deputy Head of Mission of Jamaica to the United Nations (UN). In this role he was also foreign policy chief spokesman.

In 1967 he was re-elected as Members of the House of Representatives for the constituency of Clarendon Parish.

Prime Minister from 1967 to 1972

After Busta Mentes successor as Prime Minister, Donald Sangster, on April 11, 1967, died already after only six weeks of term of office, he succeeded him as Prime Minister of Jamaica. At the same time he was Sangster's successor as chairman of the JLP.

Because of his background, he managed good relations with the working class to maintain, which contributed to its popularity. However, it came in October 1968 public protests when his government a native of Guyana Marxist historian Walter Rodney students re-entry to Jamaica prohibited. Therefore, on October 16, 1968, there have been a number of outbreaks of violence, the so-called " Rodney Riots ," as police forces hitherto peaceful student protests at the University of the West Indies disintegrated by force. Shearer founded the ban so that Rodney is a threat to the newly independent Jamaica only a few years earlier because of his travel to socialist countries such as Cuba and the USSR, and its relations with radical nationalist Black organizations.

From an economic point of his reign were particular reasons for the foundation stones for the two main sources of income of the country because of the construction of three aluminum plants and the establishment of three sprawling tourist facilities while. At the same time he promoted education through intensive education campaigns, and the construction of fifty new schools. In addition, he advocated that a competent authority under the Convention was created in Kingston.

In the parliamentary elections of 1972 Shearer and JLP suffered a defeat against the People's National Party ( PNP) by Michael Manley, who succeeded him on March 2, 1972 as Prime Minister. During his tenure as Prime Minister, he was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1967 to 1972 at the same time.

Subsequent offices

In 1974 he handed over the chairmanship of the JLP to the Finance Minister in his cabinet, Edward Seaga. After this in 1980 as a successor Manley became prime minister, he appointed Shearer Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. This office he held until the end of Seagas term of office as Prime Minister on 10 February 1989.

Honors

In 2002 he was given the second highest honor of the Jamaican government with the award of Order of the nation.