Alexander Bustamante
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The Right Excellent Sir Alexander Bustamante GBE |
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|---|---|
 |
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| 1st Prime Minister of Jamaica | |
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In office 29 April 1962 – 23 February 1967 |
|
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governor-General |
Sir Kenneth Blackburne Sir Clifford Campbell |
| Succeeded by | Sir Donald Sangster |
| 1st Chief Minister of Jamaica | |
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In office 5 May 1953 – 2 February 1955 |
|
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governor | Sir Hugh Foot |
| Succeeded by | Norman Manley |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
William Alexander Clarke 24 February 1884 Hanover, Jamaica |
| Died | 6 August 1977 (aged 93) Irish Town, Jamaica |
| Nationality | Jamaican |
| Political party | Jamaica Labour Party |
| Spouse(s) | Gladys Longbridge (1962–1977; his death) |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Sir William Alexander Clarke Bustamante GBE PC (24 February 1884 – 6 August 1977) was a Jamaican politician and labour leader who in 1962 became the first prime minister of Jamaica. He founded the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union following the 1938 labour riots, and the Jamaican Labour Party in 1943. Bustamante is honoured in Jamaica with the title National Hero of Jamaica in recognition of his achievements.
He was born as Alexander Clarke to Mary (née Wilson), a woman of mixed race, and her husband Robert Constantine Clarke, an Irish Catholic planter, in Hanover, Jamaica. He said that he took the surname Bustamante to honour a Spanish sea captain who befriended him in his youth.
Bustamente travelled the world and worked in many different places. His occupations included working as a policeman in Cuba and as a dietician in a New York City hospital. At the age of 48, he returned to Jamaica in 1932.
He became a leader in activism against colonial rule. He gained recognition by writing frequent letters on the issues to the Daily Gleaner newspaper. In 1937 he was elected as treasurer of the Jamaica Workers' Union (JWU), which had been founded by labour activist Allan G.S. Coombs. During the 1938 labour rebellion, he quickly became identified as the spokesman for striking workers, who were mostly of African and mixed-race descent. Coombs' JWU became the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) after the revolt, and Bustamante became known as "The Chief".
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