Bharrat Jagdeo (born 23 January 1964) is the socialist President of Guyana (since 11 August 1999). He had previously been a member of Janet Jagan's cabinet, and became president after Jagan resigned for health reasons. He is the youngest head of state of the Caricom countries. He is of Indian descent.
After obtaining a Master's in Economics from Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University in Moscow in 1990, Jagdeo returned to Guyana and worked as an Economist in the State Planning Secretariat until the People's Progressive Party/Civic election victory in 1992. After this he worked as an advisor to the Minister of Finance.
Some PPP supporters are upset because, as President, he has surrounded himself with many advisers associated with the former People's National Congress government.
Charges of crime, corruption, incompetence, mismanagement and nepotism have been made against Jagdeo's administration, as they have against all former Guyanese administrations. In March 2001, Bharrat Jagdeo won a second term in elections that underscored Guyana's bitter racial tensions. The re-election of Jagdeo, a member of the Indo-Guyanese majority, caused rioting among the minority Afro-Guyanese, who claimed widespread election fraud.
Jagdeo was re-elected for another five-year term on August 28, 2006, with People's Progressive Party garnering 54.6 percent of the votes and expanded its majority by two to 36 seats in the 65-member parliament. He was sworn in for another term on September 2. It should be noted that the 2006 national elections, unlike previous elections, were peaceful and according to foreign observers free and fair. Although there were some administrative issues, the peaceful nature of the elections was a major milestone for the country. |
