Cheddi Jagan

Cheddi Berret Jagan
5th President of Guyana
In office 9 October 1992 – 6 March 1997
Prime Minister	Sam Hinds
Preceded by	Desmond Hoyte
Succeeded by	Sam Hinds
Personal details
Born	22 March 1918(1918-03-22) Georgetown, Guyana
Died	6 March 1997(1997-03-06) (aged 78) Washington, D.C., United States
Political party	People's Progressive Party
Spouse(s)	Janet Jagan
Religion	Atheist[citation needed]

Cheddi Berret Jagan (March 22, 1918 – March 6, 1997) was a Guyanese politician who was first elected Chief Minister in 1953 and later Premier of British Guiana from 1961 to 1964, prior to independence. He later served as President of Guyana from 1992 to 1997.^[1]

Biography

The son of ethnic Indian sugar plantation workers, Jagan managed to attend Queen's College in Georgetown. He later studied at the Howard University Dental School in Washington, D.C., and Northwestern University in Chicago before returning home in the early 1940s.

He was elected to the colonial legislative body, the Legislative Council, in November 1947 as an independent candidate from Central Demerara constituency. On January 1, 1950, the People's Progressive Party (PPP) was founded, with Jagan as its Leader, Forbes Burnham as its Chairman and Jagan's wife Janet as its Secretary.^[2]

Jagan won in a colonially administered election in 1953, but was removed from power militarily by Britain. Churchhill was convinced Jagan was a crypto-communist and would allow the Soviet Union a foothold in Latin America. There was strong behind-the-scenes pressure from the United States and the CIA, asserted that he had ties to the Soviet Union.^[3] Jagan resigned as British Guiana prime minister after 133 days. However the USA did not participate directly in Jagan's removal, which was solely a British operation. Britain suspended the constitution and chose an interim government. Jagan's movements were restricted to Georgetown from 1954 to 1957.

After a PPP victory in the August 1961 election, Jagan became Chief Minister for a second time, serving for three years. In the December 1964 election, the PPP won a plurality of votes, but Burnham's party, the People's National Congress, and the conservative United Force were nevertheless invited to form the government.^[2]

Having broken off links with Burnham, Jagan was active in the government as a labor activist and leader of the opposition. After 28 years in opposition, he and the PPP won the October 5, 1992 election with about 54% of the vote, and Jagan became President.^[4]

Jagan suffered a heart attack in the morning of February 15, 1997 and was taken to Georgetown Hospital before being flown by U.S. military aircraft^[5] to Walter Reed Army Hospital in the U.S. capital, Washington, DC, later that day.^[1][5] He underwent heart surgery there and died in Washington on March 6, 1997. Prime Minister Sam Hinds succeeded him as President and declared six days of mourning, describing Jagan as the "greatest son and patriot that has ever walked this land".^[1]

His presidential tenure was characterized by the revival of the union movement and a re-commitment to education and infrastructure improvement. Towards the end of his life, he began moving his country to greater economic deregulation.

He married Janet (née Rosenberg), an alleged former member of a communist youth organization, in 1943, and the couple had two children, Nadira and Cheddi Jr. (who in turn produced five grandchildren, Cheddi B. Jagan II, Vrinda Jagan, Avasa Jagan, Alex Brancier, Natasha Brancier). Mrs. Jagan followed her husband's footsteps and held the positions of prime minister and president in 1997 (succeeded as president by Bharrat Jagdeo in 1999). The Cheddi Jagan Research Centre in the capital, Georgetown, celebrates Cheddi Jagan's life and work, complete with a replication of his office.

Jagan was also an important political author and speechwriter, and his publications include "Forbidden Freedom: The Story of British Guiana,1954, 1955,1994, 1998(Hansib)" "The West On Trial: My Fight for Guyana's Freedom,1966, 1967, 1972, 1975,1980, 1997, 2004(Harpy)" "The Caribbean Revolution, 1979(out of print)" "The Caribbean Whose Backyard, 1984(out of print)" "Cheddi Jagan, Selected Speeches 1992-1994, 1995(Hansib)" "The USA in South America,1998(Hansib)" "A New Global Human Order, 1999, 2001(Harpy)" "Cheddi Jagan Selected Correspondences 1953-1965, 2004(Dido Press).

See also

• Cheddi Jagan Bio Diversity Park
• Cheddi Jagan International Airport

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Larry Rohter, "Cheddi Jagan, Guyana's Founder, Dies at 78", The New York Times, March 7, 1997.
2. ^ ^{a b} History of the PPP, PPP website.
3. ^ The Suspension of the British Guiana Constitution - 1953 ((Declassified British documents)
4. ^ "Cheddi Jagan Elected As Guyana's President", The New York Times, October 8, 1992.
5. ^ ^{a b} "In the Americas", The Miami Herald (nl.newsbank.com), February 16, 1997.

External links

• Cheddi Jagan Research Centre, an informational site maintained by Jagan's daughter, Nadira Jagan-Brancier
• Cheddi Jagan Timeline Posted at Center for Cooperative Research
• [1] - Death of Cheddi Jagan

Political offices
Preceded by Office established	Chief Minister of Guyana 1953	Succeeded by Office abolished
Preceded by Office established	Premier of Guyana 1961 – 1964	Succeeded by Forbes Burnham
Preceded by Desmond Hoyte	President of Guyana 1992 – 1997	Succeeded by Sam Hinds

Persondata
Name	Jagan, Cheddi
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	March 22, 1918
Place of birth	Georgetown, Guyana
Date of death	March 6, 1997
Place of death	Washington, D.C., United States