George Cadle Price

George Cadle Price, PC, OCC (15 January 1919 – 19 September 2011), was a Belizean politician and statesman. He served twice as the head of government and Prime Minister of Belize from 7 April 1961– 17 December 1984 and 7 September 1989– 3 July 1993. He was First Minister of British Honduras from 7 April 1961 to 1 January 1964, then he was Premier of British Honduras from 1 January 1964 to 1 June 1973. Then he was Premier of Belize from 1 June 1973 to 12 September 1981 under British and United Kingdom rule until independence on 12 September 1981. He was the nation’s and country’s first Prime minister after and upon independence that year.

He is considered to have been one of the main people in Belizean independence. Today he has been called by many "the Father of the Belizean Nation". Price effectively dominated Belizean Politics from 7 April 1961 until his retirement from party leadership as Leader of the People’s United Party on 10 November 1996. He was the Head of government under various titles for most or during that period.^[1]

He entered Belizean Politics in 1947 when Belize was still called British Honduras. He was elected as the Deputy Chairman of the Independent Party. He won the nomination as an Independent Representative for Belize City unopposed, 5 months before the election. He stood as an Independent Candidate in the 1947 British Honduras general election and won his seat of Belize City constituency. The Independent Party, which was then led by John Smith, was the only Party that contested the election. It won all the nine seats in the British Honduras Legislative Assembly. Price was appointed as Chairman of the Belize City Council by John Smith. He hired workers to build houses and roads in Belize City as British Honduras was not developed yet. In 1949, He was appointed as Attorney General and Minister of Economic Development by John Smith. When the British Honduras dollar was devalued he, together with a group of citizens and nine of his political colleagues and friends such as John Smith, Deputy First Minister Leigh Richardson, Herbert Fuller and Herman Jex, formed the People’s Committee. That was the start of the “peaceful, constructive Belizean revolution". On 29 September 1950, he founded the People’s United Party. He led it for 40 years.

1. ↑ Craig, Meg; Musa, Yasser (2004). George Price: Journey of a Belizean Hero. Belize City, Belize: Factory Books. p. 5. ISBN 9768111852.