Jamaica's Forgotten Prime Minister - Donald Sangster

Book excerpt: How can a prime minister have been forgotten? Jamaica has been an independent nation for less than 50 years with only nine prime ministers to date. This begs the question, how can one have been forgotten? Hartley Neita, who served as press officer and press secretary to four of them tells how. In doing so, he makes sure to paint the true picture of a man of stature and integrity, who served his country and the Commonwealth with distinction, earning the respect and admiration of all during his lifetime. Sangster's years as acting prime minister to Sir Alexander Bustamante were overshadowed by the fact that Bustamante, while not well enough to carry out most prime ministerial duties, remained in charge of certain public roles and decisions. Sangster, the gentle man of the soil that he was, quietly carried out his role as leader of government business without fanfare. He got the job done. From his unique vantage point, Hartley Neita documents an important piece of Jamaican history in his usual intriguing style; compiling interesting anecdotes, underpinning them with historical records and overlaying all these with his personal recollections and insights. Neita thus ensures that we inherit a great read of the life and times of the shortest serving Prime Minister of Jamaica, and that he, Donald Sangster, remains unforgettable.