Norman Manley

Norman Washington Manley (4 July 1893 – 2 September 1969) was a Jamaican statesman who served as the first and only premier of Jamaica. A Rhodes Scholar, Manley became one of Jamaica's leading lawyers in the 1920s. Manley was an advocate of universal suffrage, which was granted by the British colonial government to the colony in 1944.

Encouraged by Osmond Theodore Fairclough, who had joined forces with the brothers Frank and Ken Hill, Hedley P. Jacobs and others in 1938, he helped to launch the People's National Party which later was affiliated to the Trade Union Congress and even later the National Workers Union. He led the PNP in every election from 1944 to 1967. Their efforts resulted in the New Constitution of 1944, granting full adult suffrage.

Manley served as the colony's Chief Minister from 1955 to 1959, and as Premier from 1959 to 1962.

Thomas Manley initially succeeded in citrus farming but soon squandered his earnings through litigious activities. Once he died in 1899, Margaret Manley moved her four children to the Belmont estate near Spanish Town.

Manley was a scholar, soldier, and athlete. He attended Wolmer's Schools and Beckford & Smith High School before winning a full scholarship to Jamaica College. In 1911, he won six medals in the Jamaican schoolboy championships, including the 100 yards in 10 seconds, setting a record unbroken until 1952. This time would have qualified him for the Olympic finals in 1908 and 1912. Following his mother's death in 1913, Manley and two siblings travelled to the UK to continue their studies.

Manley served in the Royal Field Artillery during World War I and was awarded the Military Medal for "acts of gallantry and devotion to duty under fire".

Political career

After the war, Manley was admitted to the bar in England in 1921, and returned to Jamaica in 1922, continuing to practise law as a barrister. which was tied to the Trade Union Congress and later the National Workers Union. The PNP supported the trade union movement including the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union, then led by Bustamante. At the same time, Manley worked for Universal Adult Suffrage.

The 1949 Jamaican general election was much closer. The PNP received more votes (203,048) than the JLP (199,538), but the JLP secured more seats; 17 to the PNP's 13. Two seats were won by independents. The voter turnout was 65.2%.

In the year of 1954, the PNP expelled Richard Hart, a Marxist, and three other PNP members for their (alleged) communist views. The other three members were Frank Hill, Ken Hill and Arthur Henry, and they were collectively referred to as "the four H's".

Hart and the other members of "the four H's" were very active in the trade union movement in Jamaica. In the 1940s and 1950s. Hart worked as a member of the executive committee of the Trade Union Council from 1946 to 1948. He served as Assistant Secretary of the Caribbean Labour Congress from 1945 to 1946 and Assistant Secretary from 1947 to 1953.

The 1959 Jamaican general election was held on 28 July 1959, and the number of seats was increased to 45. The PNP secured a wider margin of victory, taking 29 seats to the JLP's 16.

Chief Minister of Jamaica Manley served as chief minister from 1955 to 1959.

The Facilities for Title Act of 1955 enabled people who occupy land for more than seven years to obtain credit for development. The Loans To Small Business Act was passed in 1956 "to provide for the establishment of a board to grant loans and other forms of financial assistance to persons engaged in carrying on small businesses."

One of his biggest goals as chief minister was to make sure all children had access to a public education.

Premier of Jamaica Manley was appointed Jamaica's first premier on 14 August 1959.

Thousands of small farmers were provided with subsidies, while new markets were opened for increase of products in various fields. The Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation was set up for public education and entertainment as well as to encourage Jamaican creative talent, public library facilities were extended to all parishes, and primary schools were built.

Agricultural aid was also increased during Manley's time in office.

In 1960, a pension scheme for sugar workers was introduced. The Shops and Offices Act was passed in May 1961 "to provide for the regulation of the hours of business of shops and offices and for the welfare and the regulation of the hours of work of persons employed in or about the business of shops and offices."

The West Indies Federation Manley was a strong advocate of the Federation of the West Indies as a means of propelling Jamaica into self-government. When Bustamante declared that the opposition JLP would take Jamaica out of the Federation, Manley, already renowned for his commitment to democracy, called for a referendum, unprecedented in Jamaica, to let the people decide.

This resulted in the independence of Jamaica on 6 August 1962, and several other British colonies in the West Indies followed suit in the next decade. Bustamante had replaced Manley as premier between April and August, and on independence, he became Jamaica's first prime minister.

Later years

Manley lost the next election to the JLP. In the 1967 Jamaican general election, the JLP were victorious again, winning 33 out of 53 seats, with the PNP taking 20 seats.

Marriage and family

As a young man, he married his maternal cousin Edna Swithenbank (1 March 1900 – 2 February 1987) in 1921. They had two children together. Their second son, Michael Norman Manley, went into politics and rose to become the fourth Prime Minister of Jamaica. The elder son, Douglas Manley, became a university lecturer, politician and government minister.

Manley was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. Manley's speech entitled, To Unite in a Common Battle was delivered in 1945 at the fraternity's Thirty-first General Convention in Chicago, Illinois.

Legacy and honours

After his death, Manley, and his still-living cousin Bustamante, were proclaimed National Heroes of Jamaica on 18 October 1969,