A year and eight months after being appointed Jamaica’s fifth governor-general, Professor Kenneth Hall has been conferred with the award of Knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II, Information Minister Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange revealed yesterday.

Notice of Hall’s Knighthood was conveyed in an October 12 letter from British High Commissioner Jeremy Cresswell to Prime Minister Bruce Golding who, Grange said, made the recommendation to London.

“I have confirmed with Buckingham Palace that the Jamaican Government should feel free to announce the award of the Knighthood since the Queen has approved the formal submission recommending the award,” Cresswell’s letter said.

“The Central Chancery of the Order of Knighthood will formally gazette the award on November 6 along with other awards. But this in no way inhibits the Jamaican Government from announcing the award with immediate effect.”

Hall took the oath of office to become governor-general on February 15, 2006, succeeding Sir Howard Cooke, who served 15 years as the country’s head of state.

Hall’s appointment was announced at a Cabinet press briefing on January 23, 2006 by then prime minister P J Patterson.

“In accordance with tradition and precedence, I have submitted, with the support of the Cabinet of Jamaica, a request that the Queen should see fit to appoint as her representative, Professor the Honourable Kenneth Hall,” Patterson told reporters, confirming an Observer report the day before that Hall had received the nod to succeed Sir Howard.

Yesterday, Grange said that Prime Minister Golding made the recommendation that Hall be knighted “in keeping with the practice of his predecessors”.

It appeared from Cresswell’s letter that Hall will not need to travel to Buckingham Palace for the ceremonial dubbing of the knight by the Queen and the presentation of insignia, as the British envoy stated that the validity of the award does not need the “physical act by the Queen or her chosen representative”.

Hall, who will now be referred to as Sir Kenneth, was born in Lucea, Hanover on April 24, 1941, to parents Harry and Beatrice Hall.

He is a former pro vice-chancellor and principal of the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI).

He graduated from the UWI, Mona in 1966 with a Bachelor’s degree in history and subsequently obtained a post-graduate diploma in international relations from the Institute of International Relations at the UWI’s St Augustine campus and Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in history from Queen’s University, Ontario, Canada.

He has lectured in history at UWI, Mona, and was professor of history at State University of New York.

Hall returned to the Caribbean to work in 1994, when he was appointed deputy secretary general of Caricom, holding that job until his appointment to the University of the West Indies.

He has also published books and articles on issues relating to history and international relations. Among his most recent publication is Caribbean Imperatives: Regional Governance and Integrated Development and Governance.