(Jamaica Gleaner) Edward Philip George Seaga, Jamaica’s fifth Prime Minister and longest-serving Member of Parliament, has died.
He died in a Miami hospital yesterday where he had been receiving treatment for cancer and related complications.
Yesterday was his 89th birthday.
Seaga was the last surviving framer of the Jamaican constitution.
At the age of 29, the former prime minister became the youngest person to be nominated to the Legislative Council (later the Senate) where he served for two years before he became a Member of Parliament until his retirement in January 2005.
But even after his retirement, he remained active in the public arena, and, later that year, was appointed as a Distinguished Fellow of the University of the West Indies (Mona), whose Research Institute had earlier been named in his honour.
In 2008, he was appointed Pro-Chancellor of the University of Technology, Jamaica and two years later he became the institution’s second chancellor after his predecessor, Lord Morris Handsworth, retired.
A lifelong sports enthusiast, the former prime minster was chairman of the Premier League Clubs Association, one of Jamaica’s governing football bodies, from its inception until 2010.
He also served as president of the football club of his former West Kingston enclave, Tivoli Gardens.
On May 15 when Prime Minister Andrew Holness visited Seaga in Miami, he enquired about Jamaica’s football programme and was updated by the Sports Minister Olivia Grange.
Seaga was born on May 28, 1930 in Boston, Massachusetts, while his Jamaican parents were on a visit to America.
When he was three months old, he was brought to Jamaica by his parents.
The country’s leaders and former heads of government reacted to yesterday’s passing of Seaga.
Here are their reactions:
Prime Minister Andrew Holness:
I consider Mr Seaga my political father. He has been a great mentor, friend and guide in imparting the skills on strategic leadership and in building a nation. I owe him & indeed Jamaica owes him a debt of gratitude. He will forever remain in our hearts and minds. #RIPMrSeaga
Opposition Leader Dr Peter Phillips:
The Leader of the Parliamentary Opposition and President of the People’s National Party, Dr Peter Phillips, has described Jamaica’s fifth former Prime Minister, Edward Seaga, as a giant in the cultural, social, economic life of independent Jamaica. Phillips says his passing today represents the end of an era in our political and social development. For close to sixty years, Mr Seaga was a gigantic and powerful presence, having started out as an anthropologist, he made his commitment to representational politics and became the first Member of Parliament to serve more than one term in Western Kingston, a seat he represented for a record 43 years, from 1962 until his retirement in 2005.
Former Prime Minister Bruce Golding:
With the passing of Edward Seaga, Jamaica has lost one of its most accomplished nation builders. His contribution to national development spanned more than fifty years from the early 1950s when he conducted research into the social structure and folk culture of both rural communities and Kingston’s city slums. His trailblazing achievements as Minister of Development and Welfare, Minister of Finance and Planning and Prime Minister have left an indelible mark on Jamaica’s institutional development and constitute a huge legacy from which the Jamaican people continue to benefit. He was a strong leader, firm in his convictions and fearless in his approach. He was never daunted by criticism or controversy once he was convinced that the path he was pursuing was the right one. In so many respects, history has vindicated him. Edward Seaga has earned his prominence in the annals of Jamaica’s journey as a nation and his contributions will be one of the pillars on which the greatness that we achieve will rest. He was the youngest member of the Joint Legislative team which crafted our Independence Constitution.
Former Prime Minister PJ Patterson:
In pursuit of his huge and valued portfolio responsibilities, he was trusted with the task of completing the matrix of institutional building which was essential for the modern nation state. He set out to preserve and promote our rich cultural legacy, while spawning new modules far and wide for our island’s development. He was a leader of strong convictions and purpose, courageous and energetic in the pursuit of a vision dedicated to our uplifted in the eyes of the world. As the longest serving Parliamentarian, his incisive questions and at times devastating wit enriched the quality of legislative deliberations. Edward Seaga to the very end was blessed with the mental acuity to maintain his attention span for sports, music and the learning process which had influenced the course of his earlier life.
