Florizel glass pole

Sir Florizel Augustus Glasspole ON , GCMG , GCVO , CD (born September 25, 1909 in Kingston (Jamaica) ; † November 25, 2000 ibid) was the long-time Governor General of Jamaica and a union official .

biography

Union official

The son of the Methodist clergyman, Reverend Theophilus Glasspole, first graduated from Buff Bay Elementary School in Portland Parish from 1914 to 1918 , then the Central Branch Primary School until 1922 and then the Wolmer's Boys School, which he finished in 1926 with the Senior Cambridge Examination. He then entered the service of the Government of Jamaica , where he initially worked in the Registration of Titles Office and then in the main post office.

Due to his income, the intended study of law was not possible for him, so he began training as an accountant in 1930 and also completed a distance learning course at the Scottish accounting school as part of this training. As early as 1930 he was working as an accountant in Saint Thomas Parish , but returned to Kingston in 1932, where he became an accountant in the trading office of SN Shoucair.

Already at this time he began to get involved in politics and as secretary of the Coke Methodist Church Young Men's Club took part in several events of the Saint Andrew Parish Literary & Debating Society, where he advocated the rights of the disadvantaged and the rights of workers in particular. He subsequently became one of the founders of the Jamaica United Clerks' Association (JUCA), an early union, alongside a member of the Legislative Council, EA Campbell, and Ernest A. Rowe . He was then General Secretary of JUCA between 1937 and 1948, and in this role he advocated a reduction in the weekly working hours of accountants from 60 to 45 hours. The social and economic situation meant that, alongside NN Nethersole and Ken Hill, he also became the founders of the National Reform Association and its leading figure.

After the uprising at the Frome Sugar Estate Branch in Westmoreland Parish , dissatisfaction with the working conditions there led to the establishment of the Trade Union Advisory Council in May 1938 and the People's National Party (PNP) chaired it in September 1938 by Norman Washington Manley . After the founding of the Jamaica Trade Union Congress in 1939, he became its general secretary and held this office until 1952. At the same time, he founded the Water Commission Manual Worker's Union in 1941, of which he remained General Secretary until 1948. He was also president of the Jamaica Printers & Allied Workers Union between 1942 and 1948 and, until 1945, general secretary of the Municipal and Parochial General Workers Union. Glasspole was also president of the Mental Hospital Workers Union from 1944 to 1947. During that time, he served as an employee representative on several government agencies such as the Middle Class Employment Committee, the Wages Committee, the Vocational Training Committee, the Corporate Relations Committee, and the Employee Compensation Audit Committee.

Because of his work in these organizations, Glasspole received a scholarship from the Confederation of British Trade Unions ( Trades Union Congress ), which enabled him to study trade union work at Ruskin College , Oxford . However, due to the Second World War, he was only able to begin this course in 1946.

Political career

Glasspole, who was a co-founder of the PNP in 1938, began his real political career in the December 14, 1944 elections when he became a member of the House of Representatives for the constituency of East Kingston and Port Royal , including the Jamaica Labor Party (JLP) candidate Dr . GE Valentine, as well as the two independent candidates EA Campbell and Vivian Durham, beat by more than 1,000 votes. However, the PNP only got 5 seats in these elections, while the JLP under Alexander Bustamante got 27 seats. Glasspole himself was an MP in the constituency of East Kingston and Port Royal until 1973.

After the chairman of the PNP, Norman Washington Manley, was not elected MP, he was elected Secretary of the PNP faction in the House of Representatives and thus de facto leader of the opposition. He held the office of secretary until 1973.

When the PNP strengthened as a political force in the early 1950s, there were divisions within the trade union movement, including the dissolution of the TUC umbrella organization. The split in 1952 led to the establishment of a new trade union federation, the National Workers Union (NUW), of which he was again general secretary until 1955.

After the PNP's victory in the 1955 election, he was appointed Minister of Labor and Head of Government in the House of Representatives by Chief Secretary Norman Manley on February 2, 1955. As the majority leader in the House of Commons, he was also chairman of the Jamaican Executive Committee in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Nations . As Minister of Labor he initiated a farm work program and, after a trip to the USA in 1956, initiated return programs. He also managed to end several general strikes and introduce a law on the registration of travel agencies. In 1957 he became Minister of Education as part of a government reshuffle. As Minister of Education, he introduced a Common Entrance Examination.

After the PNP's election defeat, he left the government on April 24, 1962.

After the PNP's renewed election victory, he was appointed back to government as Minister of Education on March 2, 1972 by Prime Minister Michael Manley , Norman Manley's son.

On June 27, 1973, he was appointed Governor General of Jamaica by Queen Elizabeth II to succeed Sir Herbert Duffus . He held this office for nearly 18 years until March 31, 1991. For his services he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in April 1981 and called himself Sir Florizel Augustus Glasspole from then on.

Sir Florizel Glasspole was married to his wife Lady Ina Josephine Glasspole for almost 65 years from 1934 until her death on January 4, 1999.

Web links

• Sir Florizel Augustus Glasspole (English) - profile on kingshouse.gov.jm
• "Sir Florizel Glasspole - A giant passes on", THE JAMAICA GLEANER
• "Florizel Glasspole, former GG, is dead", THE JAMAICA GLEANER
• "Sir Florizel Glasspole-Governor General of Jamaica who, despite trade union origins, held the line between socialists and conservatives," THE TELEGRAPH
• Information in rulers.org
• Jamaica at a glance
• Jamaica National Heritage Trust

Individual evidence

1. ^ Robert J. Alexander, Eldon M. Parker: A History of Organized Labor in the English-speaking West Indies . 1st edition. Greenwood Publishing Group, Westport, CT 2004, ISBN 0-275-97743-9 , pp. 38 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed January 13, 2017]).
2. ↑ CONSTITUENCY PROFILE: KINGSTON EAST & PORT ROYAL. PNP set to win in a landslide
3. ↑ Common Entrance at 50: a revolution in education, JAMAICA OBSERVER  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ^ Robert Jackson Alexander: Presidents, Prime Ministers, and Governors of the English-speaking Caribbean and Puerto Rico: Conversations and Correspondence . Greenwood Publishing Group, Westport, Conn 1997, ISBN 0-275-95803-5 , pp. 36 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed January 13, 2017]).
5. ↑ Jamaica Historical Dates
6. ^ The Most Honorable Lady Glasspole

predecessor	Office	successor
Herbert Duffus	Governors General of Jamaica 1973–1991	Edward Zacca