Alexander bustamante
William Alexander Clarke Bustamante (Hanover, February 24, 1884 – Kingston, August 6, 1977) was a Jamaican politician and trade unionist. He served as Prime Minister of Jamaica from 1962 to 1967, the first of an independent Jamaican state.
Biography
He was born in 1884 in Blenheim, a rural village in the parish of Hanover, and was baptized William Alexander Clarke. He spent his childhood in a large, multiracial family, whose father, Robert Constantine Clarke, was an Irish planter, in 1944 he changed his last name to 'deed poll', officially renamed Alexander Bustamante. The change of surname was due to the fact that he belonged to a family with large plantations, and this could cause misgivings in his jump into Jamaican politics. At the end of the 1920s he went to New York (United States), where he set up a business loan money, and in 1932 he returned to Jamaica to open a business in Kingston.
On his return to Jamaica, at that time a colony of the United Kingdom, Bustamante publicly expressed his discontent with the economic and social system existing on the island. In 1938 he founded the Bustamante Industrial Union and played a prominent role in the first strikes against the British administration, which he blamed for not meeting the needs of the population. In addition, he came into contact with leaders of the People's National Party (PNP)., founded by his cousin Norman Manley. With increasing prominence, in September 1940 he was accused by the authorities of sedition and remained under arrest for two years. Shortly after his release from prison, Bustamante broke away from the PNP and on July 8, 1943 formed his own political party, the Jamaica Labor Party (JLP).
In the 1944 Jamaican elections, the first under universal suffrage, the JLP emerged victorious with 22 of the 32 seats up for grabs. Bustamante assumed the Ministry of Communications (later Chief Minister) and from there promoted a series of constitutional and economic reforms, based on liberalism, to obtain more governmental autonomy. He was also the mayor of Kingston between 1947 and 1948. In the 1955 elections, the JLP was defeated and Bustamante had to cede the post to Norman Manley.
Between 1958 and 1962, Jamaica was part of the Federation of the West Indies. Although Bustamante was initially in favor of this formula, he ended up positioning himself against it in May 1960. The reasons were Jamaica's loss of power over other islands and the colonialist nature of the Federation. The Manley government had to call a referendum where separation was the most voted option, which meant a personal triumph for Bustamante. The JLP won the legislative elections on April 10, 1962 and two months later, on August 6, the United Kingdom recognized Jamaica's independence.
Bustamante served as Jamaica's prime minister from 1962 to 1967, with plans to modernize public services and boost the national economy. In 1965, due to his health problems, he ceded all power to Donald Sangster, and at the age of 83 decided not to stand for election. However, he continued to lead the JLP until 1974. For his contribution to the independence of Jamaica, the government awarded him the title of "National Hero" in 1969 along with Norman Manley, the liberationist Marcus Garvey and the leaders of the Morant Bay rebellion. In addition, his effigy appears on all Jamaican dollar coins.
Bustamante died at the age of 93 on August 6, 1977 in Irish Town, just outside Kingston. His remains were buried in the National Heroes Park in the capital.