Former Prime Minister of Jamaica, Edward Phillip George Seaga has died on his 89th birthday, May 28, 2018.
At 1:00 pm Jamaica time today, Prime Minister Andrew Holness made the announcement via social media that Seaga, Jamaica’s fifth Prime Minister, had passed away.
“It is with great sadness that I inform the nation of the passing of the Most Honourable Edward Phillip George Seaga, the fifth Prime Minister of Jamaica. He transitioned today at approximately 1:00 pm Jamaica time. #RIPMrSeaga,” the tweet read.
Just three weeks earlier, the former Prime Minister was admitted to a hospital in Florida after falling ill while travelling. Prime Minister Andrew Holness confirmed that Seaga was being treated for “serious illnesses” but did not disclose the nature of the illnesses.
Seaga was a member of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and served as Prime Minister between 1980 and 1989 after he famously beat Michael Manley in the October 1980 General Elections.
Seaga is the last surviving member of the framers of the Jamaican Constitution. He served as JLP leader for 31 years, and as Member of Parliament (MP) for West Kingston for 43 years, from 1962 until his retirement in 2005, the longest ever by a Jamaican politician.
He was credited with building much of the financial and planning infrastructure of the country after independence, such as the first Jamaican majority-owned commercial bank- Jamaica Citizens Bank; the Jamaica Stock Exchange; the Jamaica Unit Trust; and many other financial developments.
Similarly, in the area of arts and education, Seaga was the architect of a wide range of social programmes including the HEART Trust NTA (Human Employment and Resource Training Trust), the National School Feeding Programme, and the Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication (CARIMAC) at UWI, Mona.
In his latter years, Seaga was appointed as a Distinguished Fellow at the University of the West Indies and served as Chancellor of the University of Technology in Jamaica.
