Brindley Benn
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Brindley Horatio Benn (born January 24, 1923) was one of the key leaders of the Guyanese Independence Movement, and Deputy Prime Minister of the first elected government of Guyana.
Benn was born in Berbice. He became politically active with the People's Progressive Party (PPP) in the 1950s. The British placed him under restriction, a form of house arrest, in New Amsterdam. After the first Guyanese election, he served as Deputy Prime Minister, and later as Minister of Education and Minister of Agriculture.
During the disturbances in the early 1960s, Benn was imprisoned by the British. During this period, the British successfully split the PPP along racial lines -- the originally nationalist and multi-ethnic PPP became the party that was allegedly the party of Indo-Guyanese, whereas most Afro-Guyanese joined the People's National Congress (PNC). Brindley Benn became the most prominent Afro-Guyanese to remain with the PPP, making a statement against the divide-and-rule tactics of colonialism. Benn also coined the Guyanese national motto: One People, One Nation, One Destiny.
Following the resumption of free elections in 1993, Benn was elected to Parliament. He also served as High Commissioner to Canada and Public Service Commissioner.
External links
- People's Progressive Party (http://www.ppp-civic.org/)