22 Facts About Janet Jagan

Janet Rosenberg Jagan was an American-born Guyanese politician who served as the President of Guyana, serving from December 19,1997, to August 11,1999.

Janet Jagan previously served as the first female Prime Minister of Guyana from March 17,1997, to December 19,1997.

Janet Jagan worked in her husband's dental clinic as a nurse for 10 years.

Janet Jagan unsuccessfully ran for a seat from Central Georgetown in the 1947 general election.

Also in 1950, Janet Jagan was elected to the Georgetown City Council.

Janet Jagan was elected to the House of Assembly in the April 1953 election, winning a seat from Essequibo constituency.

Janet Jagan was one of three women to win seats in that election; following the election, she was chosen as Deputy Speaker of the Legislature.

Cheddi and Janet Jagan remained in jail for five months; they were subsequently kept under house arrest for two years.

Janet Jagan later succeeded Claude Christian as Minister of Home Affairs upon Christian's death in 1963, but resigned from the Cabinet in 1964.

Janet Jagan was elected to Parliament in 1973 and was re-elected in 1980,1985, and 1992, eventually becoming the longest-serving member of Parliament.

Cheddi Jagan was elected as President of Guyana in 1992, and Janet Jagan became First Lady.

Janet Jagan represented Guyana at the United Nations for three months in 1993, temporarily replacing Rudy Insanally when the latter was President of the United Nations General Assembly.

Janet Jagan was the fourth woman elected in her own right as chief executive of a country in the Western Hemisphere, after Vigdis Finnbogadottir of Iceland, Eugenia Charles of Dominica and Violeta Chamorro of Nicaragua.

Janet Jagan was named a Freedom hero by The My Hero Project.

On July 1,1999, after Janet Jagan returned from the European-Latin American summit in Rio de Janeiro, she was admitted to St Joseph's Mercy Hospital in the capital, Georgetown, due to chest pains and exhaustion.

Janet Jagan resigned as President on August 8,1999 because her health left her incapable of "vigorous, strong leadership"; she said that Finance Minister Bharrat Jagdeo would be her successor.

Janet Jagan later went to Belem, Brazil for additional treatment.

Janet Jagan died of an abdominal aneurysm on March 28,2009, in Georgetown.

Janet Jagan's body was cremated on March 31,2009 in Guyana.

Janet Jagan was long involved with the literary and cultural life of Guyana.

Janet Jagan published early poems by Martin Carter in Thunder and supported the publication of early Carter collections such as The Hill of Fire Glows Red.

Janet Jagan strongly believed that Guyanese children needed books which reflected their own realities.