Biography Michael Norman Manley
Biography Michael Norman Manley
Michael Norman Manley, Prime Minister of Jamaica from 1972-1980 and 1989-1992, was the first political figure to provide support for the large population of Rastafarians residing in Jamaica. It was under the rule of this man that reform for the people began to take place.
Born to a prominent political figure, Manley attended Jamaica College in Kingston from 1935-1962. He was also in the Royal Canadian Air Force during 1939-1945. After earning a bachelor’s degree and leaving the air force, he attended the London School of Economics from 1945-1949. Hoping to explore the world, he remained in London and took a job as a journalist with the BBC. In 1952, Manley decided that he wanted to return to his homeland. Being a strong-minded individual striving for change, Manley took on the responsibility of becoming a trade union negotiator, and the president of the National Workers Union of Jamaica. He strove to provide a better life for all those who lived on Jamaica.
In 1969 when his father, Norman Washington Manley passed away, Michael took over his position as leader of the PNP. Norman Manley was the original founder of the PNP, chief minister of Jamaica from 1955-1959, and prime minister from 1959-1962. With the 1972 election quickly approaching, the PNP began campaigning for Manley
In 1972 alone Manley passed over 12 reform programs including:
-From 1973 to 1975 Manley instituted over 30 additional programs and policies
-Perhaps one of Manley’s most important initial reforms was the lowering of the voting age. This act alone allowed Rastafarians to take on a much larger role in the democratic aspects of the government.
-Manley was also one of the first Prime Ministers to advocate for social equality.
Michael Manley’s reforms reached a wide array of Jamaican citizens. In 1973 Manley announced his plan to make secondary and university education free of charge. He received much opposition from the middle and upper class citizens, and also from members of his own staff. The finance minister David Coore had vetoed the plan, and Manley was ridiculed for not consulting him, prior to announcing it’s implementation during his 1973 budget speech.
Manley and his administration began what is known as one of their greatest accomplishments, the National Bauxite reform. In the 1972 PNP election manifesto, the party had promised to establish a National Bauxite Commission. This commission...