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A Titan Goes: Hugh Shearer Calls It a Day. by Grace Virtue. Sunday

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A Titan Goes: Hugh Shearer Calls It a Day. by Grace Virtue. Sunday A Titan goes: Hugh Shearer calls it a day by GRACE VIRTUE the headquarters of the Law of tight race, Mr. Shearer was cho­ Gleaner Staff Writer the Sea Authority. Though this sen by his party to succeed the is not yet finalised, it is a quest Prime Minister over Robert "I CANNOT allow the govern­ which could have considerable Lightbourne and Clem Tavares. ment to be bullied by any group impact on Jamaica in both do­ Mr. Shearer's success was the whether do-gooders, noise-mak­ mestic and foreign affairs. realization of a dream for Sir ers, ologists or gatherers," said Indeed Hugh Shearer can Alexander Bustamante who had Prime Minister of Jamaica Hugh claim glory, if he wishes, and not long identified him as his son Lawson Shearer in 1968. the hasty and empty type of and heir apparent. Rumours say Later that year, he told a which he warned youn::- Jamai­ that on one occassion Sir Alex­ group of dentists planning to cans to guard against. He has ander was upset with his Cabinet migrate that "glory achieved in spent nearly all of his 70 years in on the handling of a particular haste is an empty achievment." service to his country and in issue. The old man looked past "This is our country. Leaving pursuit of the great future which Donald Sangster, Robert Ligt­ it means you are depriving it of he envisioned for his island bourne and Tavares, all rivals to the talents and service needed home and the greater world succeed him, then at the young­ for its development and giving it community. er Hugh Shearer. away to others who can see the In his lifetime and a career "One day I am going to put great vision that is in our futu­ which has taken him to all cor­ you in this (Prime Minister) re," Mr. Shearer further said. ners of the earth, he has lived ·seat," he told him. Sir Alex's His utterances said much for the lives of thousands of men outburst was followed by an un­ his own commitment to the starting with his early involve­ comfortable silence and Shearer, growth and development of this ment in the trade union ever the diplomat, kept his gaze country. Looking back at his movement at age 17. grounded on the papers before sterling contributions over the Since then, Hugh Shearer has him. years, his achievements of per­ moved on to serve the country Shearer's entry on the scene sonal and career goals both as a as a member of the Kingston as the Prime Minister of Jamaica politician and trade unionist, and St. Andrew Corporation effectively closed the Norman 1947; one can say that Mr. Shearer (KSAC) in Island supervi­ Manley and Bustamante era in lived what he believed. sor of the Bustamante Industrial Jamaican politics. It heralded 1953; Productive years Trade Union (BITU) in the begining of a new age. Member of the House of Rep­ This new development in Ja­ As Prime Minister (1967-1972), resentatives from 1955-1959; maican politics was to be consol­ he presided over Jamaica's most Member of the Legislative idated later with the PNP's elec­ productive years, according to Council, Leader of Government tion of Michael Manley to lead Opposition Leader Edward Sea­ Business in the Senate and Min­ that party upon the retirement ga. During this period three new ister without Portfolio, Deputy of his father, Norman Washing­ alumina refineries and three Chief of Mission for Jamaica at ton Manley. large convention hotels were the United Nations General As­ Now, more than 40 years constructed or started. These, sembly in 1962-1967; Member since the start of his career, Mr. Mf. Seaga said, formed the base of Parliament for Southern Cla­ Shearer has said goodbye to rep­ of today's mining and tourism rendon in 1967-1976 and South­ resentative politics. At 70, he is industries, now the countries eastern Clarendon 1976 - 1993. two largest foreign exchange no longer a Member of Parlia­ earners. Deputy PM ment, having lost his Southern Clarendon seat to the PNP's Also, Mr. Shearer is credited In a later JLP administration, he with changing the pace of educa­ served as Deputy Prime Min­ Peter Bunting. Journalists, his tion in Jamaica with his pro­ ister, Minister of Foreign Affairs colleagues on both side of the House, as well as the wider pub­ gramme to double secondary and Foreign Trade. lic, will no doubt miss him. school enrollment. Fifty new sec- Following his election in -ondary schools were built as a 1967, Mr. Shearer was appoint­ With his announcement last result. ed Minister of External Affairs. week has come the inevitable On the international scene, That he should become retreats into the past of one of Mr. Shearer in 1963 initiated Prime Minister of Jamaica that Jamaica's best loved public fig­ the- movement in the United same year, was an event that ures and a man who has for so Nations for the declaration of perhaps he had not foreseen. As long been an active part of na­ 1968 as the International Year fate would have it though, Sir tional life. of Human Rights which was Donald Sangster, who had suc­ "Hugh Shearer greets you celebrated worldwide. ceeded Sir Alexander Busta­ like a long last friend," said a Mr. Shear-er- also piloted the mante, died a few months into colleague yesterday. move to have Jamaica selected a� his term as Prime Minister. In a "He is one of the humblest --����-------------=�: Sunday Gleaner, June 6, 1993- Shearer and the children. men I have ever met," said an­ other. Still another opined, "he has walked with kings, but he never lost the common touch." Cliches these utterances may be, but true for those whose lives have been touched by HL. Amonghis friends and col­ leagues, Mr. Shearer is known for his love and loyalty to his country, his sunny disposition, his humility, his forceful direct performance, his blunt out­ spokeness on public issues, his great compassion for the poor and underprivileged and his be­ nevolence to charitable causes most of which are done quietly and without fanfare. Among the negative crit­ icisms of Mr. Shearer are his banning of University Lecturer Walter Rodneyfrom the island in 1968, as well as certain litera­ ture related to the Black Power Movement. Others still chafe at what was perceived as Mr. Shearer's put­ ting down of Black Jamaicans in a statement made at the JLP's conference last year. According to a colleague though:- " Mr. Shearer has been to the One of the many moods of Hugh Shearer mountain top and for one who has climbed so high, a few slips are allowed.... if slips the}': were!" .
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