He proved equal to the task, presiding over a period in Jamaican history that saw great economic advancement, notably in the area of industrial development.
Jamaica is still mourning the late Hugh Shearer, Prime Minister between 1967 and 1972, who died yesterday at his home in Hope Pastures, St. Andrew. He was 81.The former Prime Minister, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, had a mild stroke some weeks ago.
As president of the powerful Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU), the nation's largest and most influential body representing the country's workers, Mr. Shearer held a position of prestige and authority in the labour movement as the acknowledged leader of this crucial sector of Jamaican economic life.
As he rose to prominence in the trade union field, Shearer followed in the footsteps of his mentor, National Hero Sir Alexander Bustamante, who took his then 18-year-old kinsman under tutelage and trained him to become a doughty champion of workers' rights and a skilful negotiator for better terms of employment and working conditions for those whom the BITU was pledged to prosper and protect.
SERVICE
Born on May 18, 1923, in the historic parish of Trelawny, in the little town of Martha Brae, Hugh Shearer received his early education at primary school in Falmouth, the parish capital. He did so well in his studies there that he won the parish scholarship, which took him to St. Simon's College in Kingston, a premier private secondary school of
the day.
At St. Simon's, which he attended from 1936 to 1940, he had the good fortune of having as fellow students such Jamaicans of later distinction as the Most Reverend Samuel Carter, the late Archbishop of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Kingston; and the late Hon. G. Arthur Brown, head of the Jamaican civil service and Governor of the Bank of Jamaica. In this distinguished company Hugh Shearer prepared himself for his life's work in the public service of his country.
PUBLIC SERVICE
That public service began under the auspices of the BITU, of which he was destined to become president in the fullness of time. The union was then publishing a newspaper, The Jamaican Worker, and the youthful Shearer, fresh out of school, gained his first job in 1941 on the staff of the paper, to begin a brief stint as a journalist. He became the editor of the publication and served in that position for a year until he joined the BITU as a field worker.
His long period of activity in public life had now begun. Rising rapidly in the union's ranks, he was appointed assistant general secretary in 1947. As he progressed up the labour movement ladder, he was promoted to the key post of island supervisor in 1953 and, later, was elected vice-president in 1960. The crowning event came in 1977 when he became president of the BITU.
Much earlier, politics had beckoned. In 1947 he ran as a candidate of the Jamaica Labour Party in a municipal election and was successful in becoming a member of the Council of the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC). That political apprenticeship at the level of Local Government lasted until 1951, during which time he gained administrative experience while serving as chairman of the KSAC Public Health Committee from 1947 to 1949.
TRADE UNION SCHOLARSHIP
A trade union scholarship granted by Colonial Development and Welfare, a British Commonwealth organisation, took him to Barbados in 1948, further preparing him for the leadership role he was to play in the Jamaican labour movement. But trade unionism lost his services for a while following his return home from that study course; he decided to continue on the political path on which he started in 1947.
Again following in the footsteps of his mentor, he became a Member of the House of Representatives in 1955, after contesting and winning the seat for the constituency of Western Kingston, which had previously been held by Sir Alexander. He served as M.H.R. until 1959, losing his seat in the general election of that year. But he remained a political representative of the JLP, being appointed to the Legislative Council shortly afterwards.
When Jamaica gained Independence in 1962, Hugh Shearer was ready to play his part as a prominent Member of Parliament. Appointed to the Senate, the Upper House of the Legislature, he carried the responsibility of Leader of Government Business and Minister Without Portfolio during the five-year period to 1967.
That five-year period saw his political star in the ascendancy. He was chosen by the Government in 1965 to be deputy chief of mission for Jamaica at the United Nations General Assembly, and gained international attention when he made a proposal to the U.N. that 1968 should be declared Human Rights Year. That proposal was adopted and was recognised, at home and abroad, as his landmark achievement.
A coming event cast its shadow before, when he went as a member of the Jamaican delegation to the Com-monwealth Prime Ministers' Con-
ference in 1966. By this time, he had once more followed Sir Alexander's lead by becoming the M.P. for the Southern Clarendon seat in the House of Representatives, which the National Hero had previously held. That was in 1967, and his return to the House also saw his return to the Cabinet with appointment as Minister of External Affairs.
That same year, 1967, marked the pinnacle of his political career. The untimely death of Sir Donald Sangster, who had led the JLP to victory in 1967 (in place of the ailing Sir Alexander), left the position of Prime Minister vacant with a few scant months of the victory. There was brief challenge for the post from other Cabinet Ministers but Hugh Shearer, always seen as Sir Alexander's adopted son and heir apparent, won the contest and became the country's third Prime Minister.
That triumph carried with it another prize. On becoming Prime Minister, he assumed the leadership of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), taking over from Sir Alexander, who was too ill to continue as the Leader. Hugh Shearer now stood at the twin peaks of political power in the land of his birth.
AMBITION
Although he had said many times previously that he had no ambition to become Prime Minister, he accepted the responsibility when fate decreed that he should have it. He proved equal to the task, presiding over a period in Jamaican history that saw great economic advancement, notably in the area of industrial development.
His term of duty as Prime Minister ended in 1972, with the defeat of the JLP in the general election. He served as Leader of the Opposition for the next two years, but also returned to the trade union fold, resuming duty as vice-president of the BITU. Five years later, he rose to the supreme
post of president of the union, fulfilling his promise as Bustamante's prot?g?.
But politics and parliamentary service still claimed his attention. On the return of the JLP to power in 1979, he was named to the Cabinet and served with distinction as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade from 1980 to 1986; and took on the additional portfolio of Industry and Commerce which was brought into the Foreign Ministry in 1986.
When he left the Ministry in 1989, he had established a record as the longest-serving Foreign Minister of Jamaica. His chairmanship of the ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) group of Third World primary producers was a highlight of his tour of duty in the Ministry and of his involvement in international affairs.
LABOUR LEADER
On his return to trade union activity, he soon enhanced his reputation as a labour leader. The Joint Trade Union Research and Development Centre (JTURDC), an umbrella body for the worker movement that he had helped to form in 1980, elected him as its first chairman in 1992. This followed his earlier involvement in the formation in 1963 of the Trade Union Education Institute on the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI).
Hugh Shearer filled the leadership position at the JTURDC with characteristic zeal and vigour, advocating the workers' cause with his undisputed strength as the nation's top trade unionist, and devoting a great deal of his time and talent in promoting betterment of the workers' lot.
Further recognition of his prowess as a powerful voice at the workplace was to come two years later. In 1994, the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU) was formed and he was accorded the honour of being chosen to be its first president. Once more he threw himself fully into this demanding role, not content to rest on his laurels as elder statesman but ever concerned with the welfare of the workers.
Over a lifetime of public service, Hugh Shearer gave his talent to many entities concerned with worker rights. He was a member of the Minimum Wage Advisory Board for the bakery, catering, dry goods and beverage trades; of the Sugar Welfare Board and the Price Stabilisation Board for the sugar industry; and of the Industrial Relations Advisory Committee for the Extra-Mural Department of the UWI. He was also chairman of the Joint Industrial Councils for the port of Kingston and the other ports of the island.
A Baptist, he had a son and two daughters with his wife, from whom he was later separated. He was conferred with the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws by the UWI in 1994, in recognition of his long association with the trade union movement and political life in Jamaica. He was also awarded the Order of Jamaica, for outstanding service to the nation.
SOUND ADVICE
Despite his pre-occupation with trade union affairs, he continued in his later years to be actively associated with the JLP, giving sound advice to his younger political colleagues, although he no longer held the office of leader of the party, which he gave up in 1974 to concentrate on the BITU leadership.
As he entered into his own twilight years, he also took a personal interest in the welfare of the elderly in the society, particularly those in less fortunate circumstances. In a practical expression of solicitude and concern for 'Golden Agers', he initiated many activities for their care and comfort, showing a degree of compassion rarely demonstrated by a public person.
Bon vivant, man of the world, international statesmen, fastidious dresser, lover of good company, blessed with an unfailing sense of humour, deeply committed to public duty, Hugh Shearer was the quintessential Jamaican, eminently worthy of an honoured place in the patheon of the nation's leaders.
