44 Facts About Edward Seaga

Edward Philip George Seaga was a Jamaican politician and record producer.

Edward Seaga was the fifth Prime Minister of Jamaica, from 1980 to 1989, and the leader of the Jamaica Labour Party from 1974 to 2005.

Edward Seaga served as leader of the opposition from 1974 to 1980, and again from 1989 until January 2005.

Edward Seaga was the last serving politician to have entered public life before independence in 1962, as he was appointed to the Legislative Council in 1959.

Edward Seaga died on 28 May 2019, on his eighty-ninth birthday.

Edward Philip George Seaga was born on 28 May 1930, in Boston, Massachusetts, United States to Philip George Seaga, who was of Lebanese Jamaican descent, and Erna, who was Jamaican of African, Scottish and Indian descent.

Phillip Edward Seaga had moved to the US seeking to take advantage of the prosperity of the Roaring Twenties, but the Wall Street crash of 1929 scotched those dreams.

Edward Seaga was baptised in Kingston's Anglican Parish Church on 5 December 1930.

Edward Seaga went to the United States for higher education, graduating from Harvard University in 1952 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in the Social Sciences.

Edward Seaga subsequently took a research post at the University of the West Indies.

Edward Seaga's research led to an interest in popular Jamaican music.

Edward Seaga became deeply involved in its music scene and recorded some of its artists.

Over 16 years, Edward Seaga worked on compiling a collection of Jamaican music covering the period from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s.

Edward Seaga initiated a re-write of the human rights section of the Constitution, to provide for a Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms; creation of the post of Public Defender; and curtailment of some of the powers of the Prime Minister to provide a better balance of power between the executive and the parliament in the Jamaican system of governance.

Edward Seaga held that seat for 43 consecutive years, until he retired, making him the longest-serving Member of Parliament in the history of Jamaica and the Caribbean region.

Edward Seaga is the only person to have been elected as Member of Parliament for West Kingston for more than one term, and won 10 consecutive terms.

Immediately after winning his seat in 1962, Edward Seaga was appointed to the Cabinet as Minister of Development and Welfare, with responsibility for all areas of planning, social development and culture.

Edward Seaga initiated the redevelopment of Back O'Wall, a notorious large slum in West Kingston, and its replacement by housing, schools and community amenities, which was named Tivoli Gardens.

Edward Seaga used his position to continue to promote Jamaican music.

In 1964, Edward Seaga championed the cause calling for the return of the remains of Marcus Garvey to Jamaica.

However, four years later, Edward Seaga was a part of the Cabinet of prime minister Hugh Shearer that banned Walter Rodney from Jamaica for allegedly stirring up racial hatred.

Edward Seaga became Prime Minister of Jamaica following 30 October 1980 general election, when the JLP won a landslide victory over the incumbent PNP, with the largest mandate until 1993, when the PNP surpassed that total.

Widely regarded as the most influential Jamaican Prime Minister, Edward Seaga was a controversial figure.

Understanding the threat associated with communism, Edward Seaga reversed the hands of friendship extended by Manley to Cuba and Grenada, two countries that had adopted strong anti-American stances during the Russo-American political standoff of the 70s and 80s.

Edward Seaga cut ties with Cuba shortly after winning the 1980 election, and he, as the representative of the strongest Caribbean nation, indirectly acknowledged the Caribbean's support for the US invasion of Grenada in 1983.

In doing so, Edward Seaga is credited with preventing the eradication of Jamaica economically and saving the country from a path leading to shackling sanctions like Cuba or a foreign invasion to eliminate communism as seen in Grenada.

Edward Seaga served as Leader of Opposition from 1974 to 1980.

The JLP was defeated in a landslide by Manley's PNP in the 1989 Jamaican general election, by a margin of 45 seats to 15, and Edward Seaga returned to a long spell as Leader of Opposition.

Edward Seaga was elected leader of the JLP, and the leader of the opposition, on 20 February 2005, succeeding Seaga.

Edward Seaga established many of the financial institutions required in newly independent Jamaica to build a financial market for successful economic investment and growth, including the following:.

Edward Seaga has focused on waterfront development in the main coastal towns and cities, rural and urban township development programmes, and the development of parks and markets.

Edward Seaga was the architect of a wide range of social programmes which expanded training in human resources, aided small enterprises and protected the poor and vulnerable.

Edward Seaga established in independent Jamaica most of the institutions to build cultural awareness and national identity, as well as develop arts, crafts and national heritage.

Edward Seaga is recognized as the initiator of some of the most important political, parliamentary and constitutional reforms which affect governance of the country.

On 22 August 1965, Edward Seaga married Marie Elizabeth "Mitsy" Constantine, Miss Jamaica 1965.

Edward Seaga founded the Solidarity project to assist the poor in small entrepreneurial enterprises.

Edward Seaga founded an organization to assist victims of violence.

Edward Seaga was deeply involved in cultural activities, particularly folk music and all aspects of things Jamaican.

Edward Seaga participated as a member of various hunting clubs and the Jamaica Skeet Club.

Edward Seaga then became Chairman of the Premier League Football Association and the Professional Football Association of Jamaica, with responsibility for the 12 Premier League teams and the staging of the Premier League.

Edward Seaga has the longest period of continuous service of any elected representative in the Caribbean region.

On 28 May 2019, his 89th birthday, Edward Seaga died in Miami, Florida, where he had been receiving treatment for cancer.

Edward Seaga was installed as a Fellow of the Institute of Jamaica, devoted to the arts and sciences.

Edward Seaga was appointed as a Distinguished Fellow by the University of the West Indies, Fellow of the Institute of Jamaica, and Pro-Chancellor of the University of Technology.