Cheddi Jagan

Born Mar. 22, 1918, in Port Mourant. Guyanese statesman and politician. The son of Indian indentured servants; received a medical degree in the USA. From 1943 to 1945 he worked as a dentist in Georgetown.

Jagan was secretary-general of the British Guiana Colored Peoples’ Union and president of the Sawmill and Woodworkers* Union from 1945 to 1947. He was a member of the Legislative Council of British Guiana from 1947 to 1953 and served as prime minister of British Guiana in 1953 and from 1957 to 1964. At the same time, from 1957 to 1961, he was minister of commerce and industry. Jagan has been a member of the World Peace Council since 1953, serving as a member of its presidium since 1969. He is one of the founders (in 1950) of the People’s Progressive Party and its leader; he has been its secretary-general since September 1970.