Patterson said that SeagaРІР‚в„ўs РІР‚Сљpatriotic commitment was rock solidРІР‚Сњ.

In the second tribute, Former Jamaica Prime Minister PJ Patterson remembered Seaga as a РІР‚Сљtitanic warrior, who was never one to avoid making the difficult choicesРІР‚Сњ. MitchellРІР‚в„ўs was the first of four tributes made at the Ecumenical Service of Thanksgiving for the life of Seaga, now underway at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Kingston. He also hailed Seaga as a РІР‚СљthinkerРІР‚Сњ saying he had the ability to transcend the geographical boundaries of Jamaica to see what was needed in the wider Caribbean. Mitchell thanked Seaga for supporting the US-led invasion of Grenada in 1983, stating that the late former prime minister took a position when Grenada РІР‚Сљneeded friendsРІР‚Сњ.

The couple had a daughter, Gabrielle, in 2002, when he was 72.KINGSTON, Jamaica - Prime Minister of Grenada, Dr Keith Mitchell, in paying tribute, hailed late former Prime Minister of Jamaica Edward Seaga as РІР‚Сљa Caribbean man and a champion for regional integrationРІР‚Сњ. He remarried in 1997 to Carla Vendryes, 30 years younger. They had three children together - Anabella, Andrew, and Christopher - before divorcing. Seaga was married from 1965 to 1996 to the former Marie Constantine, who had been Miss Jamaica 1964. Seaga, who was chief of the Labor Party until 2005. First elected to Parliament in 1997 at the age of 25, he was a special assistant to Mr. Holness, the current prime minister from the Labor Party, is a protР“В©gР“В© of Mr. Seaga remained LaborРІР‚в„ўs leader for many years afterward and he built national institutions such as the annual festival celebrations, the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission, and the HEART National Training Agency, among other institutions. SeagaРІР‚в„ўs party lost the general election to Manley after he transformed into a centrist. Seaga and Manley clasp hands over his head and promise an end to the violence. The concertРІР‚в„ўs highlight was a moment that has become immortalized in Jamaican consciousness: Reggae icon Bob Marley made Mr. SeagaРІР‚в„ўs Labor Party, JamaicaРІР‚в„ўs leading reggae musicians took the stage at a Kingston concert to support peace. Seaga is forever linked with the state-sponsored political violence of the 1970s, when JamaicaРІР‚в„ўs two major political factions used gangsters to sway voters.Р”Р‡ollowing a deadly 1978 military ambush of gang members allied to Mr. Clashes between rival partisans killed nearly 800 people. The run-up to the 1980 elections that vaulted him to power was extraordinarily bloody. He was President ReaganРІР‚в„ўs closest Caribbean ally and was able to boost a struggling economy that was hit hard by soaring inflation and widespread joblessness. Seaga instituted a pro-American, free-market economy, ushering in what many consider the islandРІР‚в„ўs most prosperous era. Seaga described the landslide victory as a РІР‚ВРІР‚Вdeclaration against communism in Jamaica.РІР‚в„ўРІР‚в„ўР”Р„s JamaicaРІР‚в„ўs leader, Mr. SeagaРІР‚в„ўs Labor Party ousted the incumbent Manley and the PeopleРІР‚в„ўs National PartyРІР‚в„ўs РІР‚ВРІР‚Вdemocratic socialistРІР‚в„ўРІР‚в„ў administration in 1980, Mr. Seaga railed against the socialist agenda of then-Prime Minister Michael Manley, saying it crippled the islandРІР‚в„ўs fragile economy. distribution company and played a role in introducing ska to the world.Р”Р„t 29, he was appointed to JamaicaРІР‚в„ўs upper legislative house by Labor Party founder and JamaicaРІР‚в„ўs first prime minister, Alexander Bustamante.Р”Р„s opposition leader in the 1970s, Mr. Seaga was a major record producer who operated the West Indies Record Ltd.

He studied anthropology at Harvard University and published several papers on Afro-Jamaican folklore and Obeah, a religion combining Christian and African rituals.Р”В«efore entering politics, Mr. Seaga renounced his US citizenship at a young age to show his loyalty to Jamaica. Born May 28, 1930, in Boston to Lebanese-Jamaican parents, Mr.

Seaga jamaica prime minister