James Alexander George Smith McCartney
James Alexander George Smith "Jags" McCartney (born June 30, 1945 on Grand Turk Island , † May 9, 1980 in a plane crash over Vineland , New Jersey , United States ) was a politician of the People's Democratic Movement (PDM) and national hero of the Turks - and Caicos Islands , who was among other things first Chief Minister of the Turks and Caicos Islands between 1976 and 1980 .
Life
"Jags" McCartney, son of of Jamaica originating Barrister Harvey OB Fernandez McCartney and Sally McCartney, an organist in the Sunday school , got its name after coming also from Jamaica lawyer and deputy James Alexander George Smith. He first attended high school in the Turks and Caicos Islands, but because of a congenital heart disease and further medical treatment, he moved to Jamaica, where he attended Happy Grove High School . During his stay, he began his political engagement under the influence of Norman Washington Manley and Alexander Bustamante and also read the works of Marcus Garvey and Martin Luther King . After his return he began developing youth programs on Grand Turk Island and, after a temporary stay in the USA, was involved in the 1967 elections for Lynden O. Pindling's Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) in the Bahamas . Later he was one of the co-organizers of a first major strike for better working conditions for the employees of the Grand Bahama Hotel and also encouraged workers to form unions, as well as to industrial disputes and demonstrations. He wrote the autobiographical book A Black Boy in the Bahamas about his experiences in the Bahamas .
In 1971 McCartney returned to the Turks and Caicos Islands and ran for a seat in parliament for the first time in 1972, but suffered an electoral defeat. In the following years he got involved in the Junkanoo Club , in which the youth members called "Black Power Boys" discussed various topics, and from which the People's Democratic Movement (PDM), which he founded on October 1, 1975, emerged. He advocated the improvement of social conditions and new land reforms that allowed residents to own their own land. He also campaigned for more young people to go abroad in order to get a higher education and better jobs after their return. In the elections in August 1976, the PDM won the elections to Parliament (House of Assembly) and put four other MPs in addition to Oswald Skippings , Lewis Astwood, Walter Cox and Leon Wilson.
Thereupon "Jags" McCartney became first Chief Minister of the Turks and Caicos Islands in August 1976 . As such, he argued for a new constitution that guarantee the rights of all citizens, as well as new possibilities and opportunities for the people of this in the Caribbean lying British overseas territory should create. After he was killed in a plane crash over New Jersey on May 9, 1980 , the previous Minister of Health and Education Oswald Skippings became the new Chief Minister on June 19, 1980.
McCartney, who was married to Dorthy M. McCartney, was named National Hero of the Turks and Caicos Islands and the last Monday in May was celebrated as a public holiday in his honor. Furthermore, who was Grand Turk airport in JAGS McCartney International Airport named.
Web links
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | McCartney, James Alexander George Smith |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Jags or JAGS McCartney (nickname) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Turks and Caicos Islands politicians |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 30, 1945 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Grand Turk Island |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 9, 1980 |
| Place of death | Plane crash over Vineland , New Jersey |