>Arimaboss at 03:16, 15 April 2021

2021-04-15T03:16:48Z

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{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific_prefix=[[His Excellency]]
|name = Cheddi Berret Jagan
|birth_name=Cheddi Berret Jagan
|image = Cheddi Jagan Anefo.jpg
|office1 = 4th [[President of Guyana]]
|1blankname1=Prime Minister {{no wrap|{{small|{{small|{{small|(also First Vice President)}}}}}}}}
|1namedata1=[[Sam Hinds]]
|term_start1 = 9 October 1992
|term_end1 = 6 March 1997
|predecessor1 = [[Desmond Hoyte]]
|successor1 = Sam Hinds
|office2= 1st [[List of Prime Ministers of Guyana#Premiers of British Guiana|Premier of British Guiana]]
|monarch2=[[Elizabeth II]]
|term_start2= 5 September 1961
|term_end2=12 December 1964
|successor2=[[Forbes Burnham]]
|predecessor2=''Inaugural holder''
|office3= 1st [[List of Prime Ministers of Guyana#Chief Minister of British Guiana|Chief Minister of British Guiana]]
|term_start3=30 May 1953
|term_end3=9 October 1953
|monarch3=Elizabeth II
|successor3=''Office abolished''
|predecessor3=''Inaugural holder''
|birth_date = {{birth date|1918|3|22|df=y}}
|birth_place = Ankerville, [[Port Mourant]], [[Berbice]], [[British Guiana]]<br>{{small|(present-day [[East Berbice-Corentyne]], [[Guyana]])}}
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1997|3|6|1918|3|22|df=yes}}
|death_place = [[Walter Reed Army Medical Center]], [[Washington, D.C.]], [[United States]]
|spouse = [[Janet Jagan|Janet Rosenberg]] (1943–1997; his death)
|children = [[Joey Jagan|Cheddi "Joey" Jagan Jr.]]<br />Nadira Jagan-Brancier
|party = [[People's Progressive Party (Guyana)|People's Progressive Party]] (1950-''death'')
|otherparty = [[Manpower Citizens' Association]] (1945-1946)<br/>[[Political Affairs Committee (British Guiana)|Political Affairs Committee]] (1946-1950)

|alma_mater = [[Howard University]]<br />[[Northwestern University]]
|relatives=[[Derek Jagan|Derek Chunilall Jagan]] (brother)
|signature = CheddiJagan.jpg}}

[[His Excellency|HE]] '''Cheddi Berret Jagan''' (22 March 1918 – 6 March 1997) was a [[Guyana|Guyanese]] politician who was first elected [[Prime Minister of Guyana|Chief Minister]] in 1953 and later [[Prime Minister of Guyana|Premier]] of [[British Guiana]] from 1961 to 1964. He later served as [[President of Guyana]] from 1992 to 1997. Jagan is widely regarded in Guyana as the ''[[Father of the Nation]]''.<ref name=Obit>Larry Rohter, [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C02E2DA1030F934A35750C0A961958260 "Cheddi Jagan, Guyana's Founder, Dies at 78"], ''The New York Times'', 7 March 1997.</ref> In 1953, he became the first person of [[Indian diaspora|Indian descent]] to be a [[head of government]] outside of [[South Asia]].

==Early life==
Cheddi Berret (Bharat) Jagan was born on 22 March 1918 in Ankerville, [[Port Mourant]], a rural village in the county of Berbice (present-day [[East Berbice-Corentyne]]). He was the eldest of 11 children. His parents were [[Indo-Guyanese|Indian]]s who were [[Kurmi]] [[Hindus]]<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p8dixDGhJ3sC&q=kurmi+guyana&pg=PT392 |title = The Writer and the World|isbn = 9780307370648|last1 = Naipaul|first1 = V. S.|date = 2012-03-15}}</ref> that immigrated from [[British Raj|British India]] to [[British Guiana]] as [[Indian indenture system|indentured labourers]]. They were both from the [[Basti district]] in the then [[North-Western Provinces]] in the [[Bhojpuri region]] of the [[Hindi Belt]] in British India (in present-day [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[India]]). His mother Bachaoni came to British Guiana as a child with her mother, while his father Jagan also came as a child with his mother and an uncle. The Jagan family lived in rural poverty, working in the cane fields to support themselves. When Jagan was fifteen years old, his father sent him to [[Queen's College, Guyana|Queen's College]] in the capital city of [[Georgetown, Guyana|Georgetown]] (about {{convert|160|km|mi|sigfig=1}} away) for the next three years. In Georgetown, Jagan saw life differently, as he came from a different background than that of his schoolmates. After he graduated from high school, Jagan realized that finding a non-[[agriculture]] job would be impossible. Finally, his father sent him to the [[United States]] to study dentistry <ref name="bio">{{Cite web|url=https://jagan.org/Biography/CJ%20Bio/cj_biography4.html|title=Home page of the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre}}</ref> with $500, the family's life savings.<ref name=Obit/>

==Stay in the United States==
Jagan left for the United States in September 1936 with two friends, and did not return to British Guiana until October 1943. He lived in [[Washington, D.C.]] for two years, enrolled in a pre-dental course at [[Howard University]]. To cover his expenses, Jagan took a job as an [[elevator operator]]. During the summers, he worked in [[New York City|New York]] as a [[door-to-door]] salesman.<ref name=Obit/> Jagan's performance helped him to win a scholarship for his second year at Howard. In 1938, he was admitted to the four-year dental program at [[Northwestern University]] in [[Chicago]].<ref name="bio"/>

==Political career==
[[File:Chedi Jagan - Levi Eshkol 1961.jpg|thumb|left|Cheddi Jagan meeting with [[Levi Eshkol]] during a visit to [[Israel]] in 1961.]]

Jagan co-founded the [[Political Affairs Committee (British Guiana)|Political Affairs Committee]] (PAC) in 1946, and was subsequently elected to the [[Legislative Council (British Guiana)|Legislative Council]] in November 1947 as an independent candidate from Central Demerara constituency. On 1 January 1950, the [[People's Progressive Party (Guyana)|People's Progressive Party]] (PPP) was founded by a merger of the PAC and the [[British Guiana Labour Party]] (BGLP), with Jagan as its leader, former BGLP leader [[Forbes Burnham]] as its chairman and [[Janet Jagan|Jagan's wife Janet]] as secretary.<ref name="PPP">[http://www.ppp-civic.org/history/historyppp.htm History of the PPP], PPP website.</ref>

Jagan won [[1953 British Guiana general election|elections]] in 1953. However, [[Winston Churchill]] was alarmed by fears that Jagan was a [[Marxist-Leninist]], and was convinced Jagan could allow the [[Soviet Union]] a foothold in [[South America]]. In fact, there is no evidence whatsoever that Jagan had any ties to any foreign communist or revolutionary groups. But still, the fears prompted a British military intervention only days after his victory.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.guyana.org/govt/declassified_british_documents_1953.html|title=The Suspension of the British Guiana Constitution - 1953 (Declassified British documents)|website=www.guyana.org}}</ref> Jagan resigned as [[List of Prime Ministers of Guyana|Chief Minister]] after 133 days. Britain suspended the constitution and installed an [[interim government]]. Jagan's movements were restricted to Georgetown from 1954 to 1957. After a PPP victory in the [[1961 British Guiana general election|August 1961 elections]], Jagan became Chief Minister for a second time, serving for three years. In the [[1964 British Guiana general election|December 1964 elections]], the PPP won a plurality of votes, but Burnham's party, the [[People's National Congress (Guyana)|People's National Congress]], and the conservative [[The United Force|United Force]] held a majority of seats and were invited to form the government.<ref name=PPP/> However, Jagan refused to resign, and had to be removed by [[List of Governors of British Guiana|Governor]] [[Richard Luyt]].<ref name=N1>[[Dieter Nohlen|Nohlen, D]] (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'', p355 {{ISBN|978-0-19-928357-6}}</ref> Having broken off links with Burnham, Jagan was active in the government as a labour activist and leader of the opposition.

==Later life==
[[File:President Cheddi Jagan.png|thumb|Cheddi Jagan in his later life]]

After 28 years in opposition, the PPP won the [[1992 Guyanese general election|5 October 1992 elections]] with about 54% of the vote, and Jagan became President. Contrary to earlier foreign fears, he governed as a [[democratic socialism|democratic socialist]] and not a Marxist–Leninist.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1992/10/08/world/cheddi-jagan-elected-as-guyana-s-president.html "Cheddi Jagan Elected As Guyana's President"], ''The New York Times'', 8 October 1992.</ref>

===Death===
Jagan suffered a heart attack on 15 February 1997 and was taken to Georgetown Hospital before being flown by U.S. military aircraft then by U.S. Air Force helicopter from Andrews Air Force Base<ref name=Miami>"In the Americas", ''The Miami Herald'' (nl.newsbank.com), 16 February 1997.</ref> to [[Walter Reed Army Hospital]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], later that day.<ref name=Obit/><ref name=Miami/> He underwent heart surgery there and died in Washington on 6 March 1997, 16 days before his 79th birthday. Prime Minister [[Sam Hinds]] succeeded him as President and declared six days of mourning, describing Jagan as the "greatest son and patriot that has ever walked this land".<ref name=Obit/>

==Family==
After graduating from dental school in 1942, Jagan met [[Janet Jagan|Janet Rosenberg]], a student nurse. They married in 1943, and had two children: Nadira<nowiki> and </nowiki>[[Joey Jagan|Cheddi Jr.]] (who in turn produced five grandchildren).<ref name=Obit/>

Janet Jagan followed her husband's footsteps and held the positions of prime minister and president in 1997 (succeeded as president by [[Bharrat Jagdeo]] in 1999).

==Legacy==
[[File:Presidential Standard of Guyana (1992-1997) under President Cheddi B. Jagan.svg|right|thumb|328x328px|Cheddi Jagan Presidential Standard]]
[[File:Cheddi Jagan International Airport Logo.png|left|thumb|Logo of the [[Cheddi Jagan International Airport]] named after him.]]
[[File:Cheddi Jagan International Airport Logo.png|right|thumb|[[Cheddi Jagan International Airport]]'s logo]]
'''The Cheddi Jagan Research Centre''' in [[Georgetown, Guyana|Georgetown]] celebrates his life and work, complete with a replication of his office. The [[Cheddi Jagan International Airport]], the largest and primary international airport of the country, is also named after him.

==Selected publications==
Jagan was also an important political author and speechwriter, and his publications include:
* ''Forbidden Freedom: The Story of British Guiana'' (Hansib, 1954)
* ''The West On Trial: My Fight for Guyana's Freedom'' (Harpy, 1966)
* ''The Caribbean Revolution'' (1979)
* ''The Caribbean: Whose Backyard?'' (1984)
* ''Selected Speeches 1992–1994'' (Hansib, 1995)
* ''The USA in South America'' (Hansib, 1998)
* ''A New Global Human Order'' (Harpy, 1999)
* ''Selected Correspondences 1953–1965'' (Dido Press, 2004)

==See also==
*[[Cheddi Jagan Bio Diversity Park]]
*[[Cheddi Jagan International Airport]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.jagan.org Cheddi Jagan Research Centre], an informational site maintained by Jagan's daughter, Nadira Jagan-Brancier.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060426021337/http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline.jsp?timeline=guyana Cheddi Jagan Timeline] Posted at [[Center for Cooperative Research]]
* [http://www.guyana.org/GuyNews/icw_cjdeath.htm "An Appreciation of Dr. Cheddi Jagan"]. Indo Caribbean World, 12 March 1997.

{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{Succession box
|before = Office established
|title = [[List of Prime Ministers of Guyana|Chief Minister of Guyana]]
|years = 1953
|after = Office abolished
}}
{{Succession box
|before = Office established
|title = [[List of Prime Ministers of Guyana|Premier of Guyana]]
|years = 1961-1964
|after = [[Forbes Burnham]]
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Heads of State of Guyana}}
{{Heads of government of Guyana}}
{{Foreign Ministers of Guyana}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jagan, Cheddi}}
[[Category:1918 births]]
[[Category:1997 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of Queen's College, Guyana]]
[[Category:Guyanese democracy activists]]
[[Category:Guyanese Hindus]]
[[Category:Howard University alumni]]
[[Category:Indo-Guyanese people]]
[[Category:Leaders of political parties]]
[[Category:People's Progressive Party (Guyana) politicians]]
[[Category:Guyanese politicians of Indian descent]]
[[Category:Presidents of Guyana]]
[[Category:Foreign ministers of Guyana]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo]]
[[Category:People from East Berbice-Corentyne]]
[[Category:Northwestern University Dental School alumni]]

Cheddi Jagan - Revision history

>Arimaboss at 03:16, 15 April 2021