Former Jamaican Prime Minister is guest speaker for St. Kitts-Nevis opposition party convention
ST. KITTS – Former Prime Minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness is slated to be the Guest Speaker at the upcoming 47th staging of the St.Kitts-Nevis main opposition party the People’s Action Movement , PAM convention.
Holness, who is also the leader of the opposition Jamaica Labour Party succeeded Bruce Golding as both leader of the Jamaica Labour Party and Prime Minister on October 23, 2011, making him the ninth person to hold this office. As Prime Minister, he chose to retain the education portfolio.
The 39 year old Holness is graduate of the University of the West Indies where he pursued a Master of Science in Development Studies and a Bachelor of Science in Management Studie. He is married to Juliette, they have two children,[Adam and Andrew Jr.
He served as Executive Director in the Voluntary Organization for Uplifting Children from 1994 to 1996 and then joined the Premium Group of Companies, acting as a special assistant to former Jamaican Prime Minister Edward Seaga.
In 1997 he became Member of Parliament for West Central St. Andrew and served as Opposition Spokesperson on Land and Development from 1999 to 2002. In 2002 he switched portfolio to Housing and then Education in 2005. He was sworn in as Minister of Education in September 2007.
On December 5, 2011, Holness called the constitutionally 2012 general election for December 29, 2011 as election day. The JLP campaigned in their strongholds and Holness highligted the four years of JLP government with accomplishments, such as economic growth and crime reduction that the JLP says that the PNP failed to do in their eighteen years of rule. But on December 29, 2011 subsequently lost at the polls to the People’s National Party
Holness along with Party Leader Mr.Lindsay Grant are the featured speakers at the event which is expected to draw thousands of party supporters, friends, and dignitaries to the PAM headquarters on Lockhart Street.
The convention has for the last 47 years been the highlight event for the party’s faithful. It has also been a time of reflection and inspiration as members recall when 47 years ago the four original PAM stalwarts (Billy Herbert, Kennedy Simmonds, Michael Powell, and Richard Caines) decided that for the love of country they would sacrifice their lives and challenge the dictatorial policies of the Labour Administration led by Sir Robert Bradshaw. Other pioneers included Colin Pereira, Cecil “Moonlight” Roberts, Joseph Sutton, Victor Maynard, Richard Shelford, Shefton Warner, and Courtney Dickenson.
The People’s Action Movement 47th Convention will be held on Sunday March 18th starting at 1pm.
