The British West Indies (BWI) were colonised British territories in the West Indies: Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, British Guiana and Trinidad and Tobago. Other territories included Bermuda, and the former British Honduras.
Cheddi Berret Jagan was a Guyanese politician and dentist who was first elected Chief Minister in 1953 and later Premier of British Guiana from 1961 to 1964. He later served as President of Guyana from 1992 to his death in 1997. In 1953, he became the first Hindu and person of Indian descent to be a head of government outside of the Indian subcontinent.
Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham was a Guyanese politician and the leader of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana from 1964 until his death in 1985. He served as Premier of British Guiana from 1964 to 1966, Prime Minister of Guyana from 1964 to 1980 and then as the first Executive President of Guyana from 1980 to 1985. He is often regarded as a strongman who embraced his own version of socialism.
The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 18 English-speaking countries and territories in the Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos Islands. Each country is either a member of the Commonwealth of Nations or a British Overseas Territory.
The University of Guyana, in Georgetown, Guyana, is Guyana's national higher education institution. It was established in April 1963 with the following Mission: "To discover, generate, disseminate, and apply knowledge of the highest standard for the service of the community, the nation, and of all mankind within an atmosphere of academic freedom that allows for free and critical enquiry."
Ian McDonald is a Caribbean-born poet and writer who describes himself as "Antiguan by ancestry, Trinidadian by birth, Guyanese by adoption, and West Indian by conviction." His ancestry on his father's side is Antiguan and Kittitian, and Trinidadian on his mother’s side. His only novel, The Humming-Bird Tree, first published in 1969, is considered a classic of Caribbean literature.
David Dabydeen FRSL is a Guyanese-born broadcaster, novelist, poet and academic. He was formerly Guyana's Ambassador to UNESCO from 1997 to 2010, and was the youngest Member of the UNESCO Executive Board (1993–1997), elected by the General Council of all Member States of UNESCO. He was appointed Guyana's Ambassador Plenipotentiary and Extraordinaire to China, from 2010 to 2015. He is one of the longest serving diplomats in the history of Guyana, most of his work done in a voluntary unpaid capacity.
Clem Seecharan is an Anthropogist and a Caribbean Historian. He was born in Guyana and has been based in England since 1986.
Sir Fenton Ramsahoye, QC, SC was a Guyanese lawyer and politician who served for over twenty years in Antigua and Barbuda.
Barbados–Guyana relations refers to the current and historical relationship between Barbados and Guyana. The former maintains non-resident diplomatic representation from Bridgetown, while Guyana which prior had a High Commissioner to Barbados appointed its first resident Consul-General, Michael Brotherson to Bridgetown in January 2012.
Sir David James Gardiner Rose was Governor-General of Guyana from 1966 to 1969.
Louise Esther Blenman is a former Appellate Judge of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and the current Chief Justice of Belize. She was the first woman to ever be appointed to the post. On 22 November 2022, she was sworn in as the first Chief Justice of the High Court and the Court of Appeal after the successful passage of the Senior Courts Act.
Prof. The Honourable Bishnodat Persaud CHB, Ph.D., FRSA was a Guyanese economist who served as Alcan Professor of Sustainable Development at the University of the West Indies, and Director of Economic Affairs, Commonwealth Secretariat. In November 2013 he was awarded The Companion of Honour in the Barbados Independence Day Honours List for distinguished national achievement and merit for his outstanding contribution to the regional and international public service.
Sir Ronald Michael Sanders is an Antiguan Barbudan diplomat, academic, former broadcast-journalist, and the current Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States and to the Organization of American States (OAS) since 2015. He holds the unique distinction of being the first person, since the OAS enlarged its membership in 1962, to serve as Chairman of the Permanent Council of the OAS for an unprecedented three terms. He completed his highly successful third term on December 31, 2023, having played a widely recognized role in guiding the work of the Permanent Council in the peaceful transition of government in Guatemala on 14 January 2024.
The Chief Justice of Guyana is the senior judge of the High Court of the Supreme Court of Guyana and is appointed by the President of Guyana. The High Court consists of the Chief Justice as President of the Court supported by several Puisne Judges.
The Ministry of Legal Affairs and Attorney General's Chambers ensures that proper legal services are provided to the Government of Guyana, as well as statutory services to the public. The Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs is the head of the chambers. The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Legal affairs handles administrative responsibilities for the departments within the Ministry and is the Accounting Officer. The Advice and Litigation Division and the Drafting Division of the Attorney General's Chambers are headed by the Attorney General and Chief Parliamentary Counsel respectively.
The 1990 Special Honours in New Zealand were three special honours lists: the first was dated 6 February 1990 and made appointments to the Order of New Zealand and the Queen's Service Order; the second was dated 17 May 1990 made awards of the Polar Medal; and the third was dated 27 November 1990, to recognise the incoming governor-general, Dame Catherine Tizard.
Patsy Blair Robertson was a Jamaican journalist and diplomat, who was Director of Information at the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Official Spokesperson for The Commonwealth from 1983 to 1994. She played a significant role in conjunction with Sir Shridath "Sonny" Ramphal, the Commonwealth's second Secretary-General, in that organisation's long battle against apartheid in South Africa. She later served with UNICEF, the UN, and as founding Chair of the Ramphal Institute, a London-based not-for-profit organization with a mission to advance knowledge and research in such areas of policy as development, education and environmental issues.
Harold Drayton was a Guyanese academic, who was instrumental in the establishment of the University of Guyana.
