Donald Sangster

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
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

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

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

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

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

• "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