Edward Seaga
Edward Philip George Seaga ON (/siˈɑːɡə/ or /-ˈæ-/; 28 May 1930 – 28 May 2019) was a Jamaican politician and record producer. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Jamaica, from 1980 to 1989, and the leader of the Jamaica Labour Party from 1974 to 2005. He served as leader of the opposition from 1974 to 1980, and again from 1989 until January 2005.
The Right Honourable Edward Seaga ON PC | |
|---|---|
Seaga in 1983 | |
| 5th Prime Minister of Jamaica | |
| In office 1 November 1980 – 10 February 1989 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governor‑General | Sir Florizel Glasspole |
| Deputy | Hugh Shearer |
| Preceded by | Michael Manley |
| Succeeded by | Michael Manley |
| Leader of the Opposition | |
| In office 10 February 1989 – 21 January 2005 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Michael Manley P. J. Patterson |
| Preceded by | Michael Manley |
| Succeeded by | Bruce Golding |
| In office 1974 – 1 November 1980 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Michael Manley |
| Preceded by | Hugh Shearer |
| Succeeded by | Michael Manley |
| Leader of the Jamaica Labour Party | |
| In office November 1974 – 21 January 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Hugh Shearer |
| Succeeded by | Bruce Golding |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Edward Philip George Seaga 28 May 1930 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | 28 May 2019 (aged 89) Miami, Florida, U.S. |
| Citizenship | Jamaica United States (renounced) |
| Political party | Jamaica Labour Party |
| Spouses | Marie 'Mitsy' Constantine
(m. 1965; div. 1995)Carla Vendryes (m. 1996) |
| Children | 4 |
| Alma mater | Harvard University (AB) |
His retirement from political life marked the end of Jamaica's founding generation in active politics. He was the last serving politician to have entered public life before independence in 1962, as he was appointed to the Legislative Council (now the Senate) in 1959. Seaga is credited with having built the financial and planning infrastructure of the country after independence, as well as having developed its arts and crafts, and awareness of national heritage.
As a record producer and record company owner of West Indies Records Limited, Seaga also played a major role in the development of the Jamaican music industry. Seaga died on 28 May 2019, on his eighty-ninth birthday.