Donald Sangster

Jamaican politician

For the Canadian economic geologist, see Donald F. Sangster.

The Most Honourable

Sir Donald Sangster

ON GCVO

2nd Prime Minister of Jamaica
In office
23 February 1967 – 11 April 1967
Monarch| Elizabeth II
Governor‑General| Clifford Campbell
Deputy| Clem Tavares
Preceded by| Alexander Bustamante
Succeeded by| Hugh Shearer
Deputy Prime Minister of Jamaica
In office
11 March 1963 – February 1967
Prime Minister| Alexander Bustamante
Succeeded by| Clem Tavares
Minister of Finance and the Public Service
In office
May 1953 – February 1955
Succeeded by| Noel Newton Nethersole
In office
April 1962 – March 1967
Preceded by| Vernon Arnett
Succeeded by| David Coore
Personal details
Born|

Donald Burns Sangster

(1911-10-26)26 October 1911
Saint Elizabeth, Colony of Jamaica
Died| 11 April 1967(1967-04-11) (aged 55)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Political party| Jamaica Labour Party

Sir Donald Burns Sangster ON GCVO (26 October 1911 – 11 April 1967) was a Jamaican solicitor and politician, and the second Prime Minister of Jamaica.[1]

## Early life

[edit]

Donald Burns Sangster was born in Black River in the parish of St. Elizabeth, Jamaica. His father William B. Sangster was a land surveyor and a planter. His mother's name is Cassandra Sangster (née Plummer).[2] Sangster attended the prestigious Munro College in St. Elizabeth.[3]

## Political career

[edit]

He entered politics at the age of 21 in 1933, when he was elected to the Parish Council of St Elizabeth, Jamaica. In 1944 he was elected to the House of Representatives of Jamaica as a member of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). He then went on to become Minister of Social Welfare and Labour and later, Minister of Finance. He was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister on 11 March 1963.[4] He became Acting Prime Minister in February 1964 when Prime Minister Sir Alexander Bustamante became ill.

On 21 February, in the 1967 Jamaican general election, the JLP were victorious again, winning 33 out of 53 seats, with the PNP taking 20 seats.[5]

He succeeded Bustamante as Prime Minister on 23 February 1967, and he only had one cabinet meeting before he fell ill less than two weeks later and became the only prime minister to die in office on 11 April, after suffering a subarachnoid haemorrhage.[6]

His face appears on the Jamaican five thousand dollar banknote alongside Hugh Shearer. Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay is named after him.

## Knighthood

[edit]

Sangster was taken ill on 18 March 1967, and was flown by the U.S. government to the Montreal Neurological Institute for specialist treatment.[7] He went into a coma a few weeks later on 1 April, and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II during that period; he died 10 days later.[8]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Andrew Holness and Donald Sangster article by Michael Burke \- Jamaica Observer - 27 October 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2013
2. ^ "Our Leaders & Prime Ministers | Sir Donald Sangster". Jamaica Labour Party. Archived from the original on 19 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
3. ^ Biography of The Rt. Hon. Sir Donald Sangster, National Library of Jamaica (NLJ). Archived 7 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 22 April 2013.
4. ^ "1962 - 1969 :: Jamaican High Commission". www.jhcuk.org.
5. ^ Nohlen, Dieter (2005), Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p. 430.
6. ^ Smith, Alecia (26 October 2020). "Sir Donald Sangster: A Legacy of Distinguished Service". Jamaica Information Service.
7. ^ Caribbean Monthly Bulletin. Institute of Caribbean Studies, University of Puerto Rico. 1966.
8. ^ Lentz, Harris M. (4 February 2014). Heads of States and Governments Since 1945. Routledge. p. 451\. ISBN 978-1-134-26490-2.

## Sources

[edit]

* "Donald Sangster – Jamaica's shortest-serving PM" at the Wayback Machine (archived 7 February 2012), The Jamaica Gleaner, 3 September 2007.

Political offices

Preceded by

Sir Alexander Bustamante

|  Prime Minister of Jamaica
1967  | Succeeded by

Hugh Shearer

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Prime ministers of Jamaica

* Alexander Bustamante†
* Norman Manley†‡
* Donald Sangster
* Hugh Shearer
* Michael Manley
* Edward Seaga
* P. J. Patterson
* Portia Simpson-Miller
* Bruce Golding
* Andrew Holness

† Served as Chief Minister of Jamaica. ‡ Served as Premier of Jamaica.

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* United States

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