Michael Manley

Michael Manley

Michael Norman Manley ON OCC (December 10, 1924 – March 6, 1997) was the fourth Prime Minister of Jamaica (1972–1980, 1989–1992). Manley was a democratic socialist.

The second son of Jamaica's Premier Norman Washington Manley and Jamaican artist Edna Manley, Michael Manley was a charismatic figure who became the leader of the Jamaican People's National Party a few months before his father's death in 1969.

Manley defeated unpopular incumbent Prime Minister Hugh Shearer (his cousin) in the election of 1972 on the platform of "Better must come", "Giving power to the people" and leading "a government of truth".

Manley instituted a series of Social and Economic reforms that yielded mixed success. Though he was a biracial Jamaican from an elite family, Manley's successful Trade Union background helped him to maintain a close relationship with the country's poor, black majority, and he was a dynamic, popular leader. Unlike his father, who had a reputation for being formal and business like, the younger Manley moved easily among people of all strata and made Parliament accessible to the people by abolishing the requirement for men to wear Jackets and Ties to its sittings. In this regard he started a fashion revolution, often preferring the Kariba Suit which was a type of formal bush or Safari Jacket with trousers and worn without a shirt and tie popularly worn by African Leaders.