FORMER Prime Minister PJ Patterson marks his 89th birthday today, just over 18 years after he retired from a life of public service that saw him create history as Jamaica’s longest-serving head of Government.

Since his retirement in March 2006 he has been active as statesman in residence of the PJ Patterson Institute for Africa-Caribbean Advocacy at The University of the West Indies (UWI).

Among the institute’s objectives are:

*Assisting in developing the framework for the coordination of public advocacy and development partnering between the Caribbean and Africa;

*Providing a framework to enable leaders and academics from Africa, the Caribbean, and the diaspora to engage in a strategy to provide public advocacy around major issues affecting both regions; and

*Developing a programme of work to engage with the full range of UWI academics and pertinent research from scholars in the diaspora for the production of a strategic framework for African-Caribbean cooperation and action which is flexible, creative, gender-conscious, and adaptable to the priorities in the developing world and changing global circumstances.

Additionally, the institute states on its website that it promotes, encourages, and facilitates “a fertile exchange of cultural groups, artistes, scholars, entertainers, athletes, [and] sports persons to build the ties between Africa, the Caribbean, and our diaspora”.

It also assists “governments, regional organisations, international institutions, the private sector, and civil society to understand and advance existing schemes of regionalism in Africa and the Caribbean and promote studies, exchanges inter-governmental or institutional groupings for the development of economic and human resources within the continent, the Caribbean, and the wider diaspora”.

Patterson also chairs the Rex Nettleford Foundation and serves on several international organisations of former prime ministers and presidents.

Born April 10, 1935 to farmer Henry Patterson and schoolteacher Ina James, PJ Patterson grew up in Hanover but attended Somerton Primary School in St James. He won a Purscell Trust Scholarship to Calabar High School, from which he graduated in 1953 and then entered the University College of the West Indies, graduating in 1958 with a Bachelor of Arts degree (Honours) in English.

He studied law at London School of Economics and was awarded the Leverhume Scholarship and the Sir Hughes Parry prize for Excellence in the Law of Contracts.

In 1963 he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws, was called to the Bar at Middle Temple, and was also admitted to the Jamaican Bar.

He eventually joined the People’s National Party (PNP), rising steadily through the ranks, gaining valuable experience that made him one of the best political organisers in the country.

Over many years in Government, Patterson had portfolio responsibility for a range of ministries that political analysts have said contributed to him being the most prepared politician ever to become prime minister.

His elevation to that office came when he was elected PNP president in 1992, following the retirement of an ailing Prime Minister Michael Manley. From there, as Jamaica’s sixth chief executive and the PNP’s third president, Patterson led the party to electoral victories in 1993, 1997, and 2002, keeping the party in office for a record 18-and-a-half years.

Political analysts suggest that much of the PNP’s electoral success had to do with the organisational skills and savvy of the secretariat, and in particular Patterson, who earned the title ‘Mr Infrastructure’ due to the raft of development projects implemented by the administrations he led.

During a sitting of both Houses of Parliament on March 28, 2006, then Opposition Leader Bruce Golding said that Patterson’s contribution to Jamaica was to be measured in the difference he was able to make and the extent to which he shaped the future of the country, while pointing to his involvement in international trade negotiations, starting with Lome, the African Caribbean and Pacific/European Union (ACP/EU) partnership agreements, and other bilateral agreements.

Golding said Patterson was also to be credited for the many significant projects, structures, and programmes instituted under his watch as well as his role in removing some of the ugly tendencies which characterised Jamaican politics over the years.

“Whatever criticisms that have been made of him in the past and whatever may be made in the future as his legacy is scrutinised and analysed, no one can question his commitment to his country, his love for the Jamaican people, or the sincerity of his intentions,” Golding said.

A special publication to mark Patterson’s 89th birthday and his life of national service is scheduled to appear in your Jamaica Observer on Sunday, April 21, 2024.