Herbert Blaize
From WiKiGrenada
Herbert Augustus Blaize (February 26 1918–December 19 1989) was a Grenadian politician. He served as the Chief Minister of Grenada from 1960 until 1961 and from 1962 until 1967, and later he was Prime Minister of Grenada from 1984 until his death.
Blaize was born in on the island of Carriacou, which along with the island of Petite Martinique is a part of Grenada. In 1953 he formed the Grenada National Party, as a rival party to the Grenada United Labor Party of Eric Gairy, who would be Blaize's main political rival for the next 25 years. Blaize entered the legislature in 1957 and became Minister of Trade and Production. He was appointed as Chief Minister in 1960, lost power to Gairy in 1961, and was reappointed in 1962 after Gairy was dismissed. In 1967 Grenada became an associated state within the British Empire, gaining more internal self-government. Soon afterwards, Blaize lost power and Gairy began a long tenure as Prime Minister.
In 1976 Blaize's center-right National Party joined forces with the left-wing New Jewel Movement led by Maurice Bishop for the elections that year, which Gairy and the GULP won. The alliance between Blaize and Bishop ended by 1979 when Bishop seized power. Blaize retired from politics and moved back to Cariacou, until after the intervention by the United States in 1983. During the election campaign of 1984, Blaize merged his parties with several other center-right parties to form the New National Party, which took 14 of 15 seats in the election. He was sworn in on December 4 1984, and his Cabinet was announced on December 15. In addition to being Prime Minister, Blaize became Minister of Home Affairs, Security, Information, Finance, Trade, Planning, Industrial Development and Carriacou and Petit Martinique Affairs.[1]
Blaize's government advocated a strong economic and military alliance for Grenada with the United States, and other overseas investment. Blaize was often criticized for being authoritarian. By the time of his death from natural causes, he was unpopular even with his own party and was receiving many pleas for his resignation. He died near St. George's, Grenada.
[edit] References
- ↑ "Jan 1985 - General election and resumption of Parliament - Formation of Blaize government - Foreign relations Opening of airport - Start of murder trial", Keesing's Record of World Events, Volume 31, January, 1985 Grenada, Page 33327.
- LA GRENADE : mort du premier ministre., Le Monde. Jeudi 21 décembre 1989, p. 3. accessed on October 7, 2006.
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