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Michael Norman Manley, Prime Minister of Jamaica from 1972 - 1980 and 1989 - 1992, was the first political figure to provide support for the large population of Rastafarians residing in Jamaica. It was under the rule of this man that reform for the people began to take place. Born to a prominent political figure, Manley attended Jamaica College in Kingston from 1935 - 1962. He was also in the Royal Canadian Air Force during 1939 - 1945. After earning a bachelors degree and leaving the air force, he attended the London School of Economics from 1945 - 1949. Hoping to explore the world, he remained in London and took a job as a journalist with the BBC.
In 1952, Manley decided that he wanted to return to his homeland. Being a strong-minded individual striving for change, Manley took on the responsibility of becoming a trade union negotiator, and the president of the National Workers Union of Jamaica. He strove to provide a better life for all those who lived on Jamaica. In 1969 when his father, Norman Washington Manley passed away, Michael took over his position as leader of the PNP. Norman Manley was the original founder of the PNP, chief minister of Jamaica from 1955 - 1959, and prime minister from 1959 - 1962. With the 1972 election quickly approaching, the PNP began campaigning for Manley In 1972 alone Manley passed over 12 reform programs including: -From 1973 to 1975 Manley instituted over 30 additional programs and policies -Perhaps one of Manley's most important initial reforms was the lowering of the voting age.
This act alone allowed Rastafarians to take on a much larger role in the democratic aspects of the government. -Manley was also one of the first Prime Ministers to advocate for social equality. Michael Manley's reforms reached a wide array of Jamaican citizens. In 1973 Manley announced his plan to make secondary and university education free of charge. He received much opposition from the middle and upper class citizens, and also from members of his own staff.
The finance minister David Code had vetoed the plan, and Manley was ridiculed for not consulting him, prior to announcing its implementation during his 1973 budget speech. Manley and his administration began what is known as one of their greatest accomplishments, the National Bauxite reform. In the 1972 PNP election manifesto, the party had promised to establish a National Bauxite Commission. This commission would "investigate what the country ought to do about increasing its revenue from and control over bauxite production and the idle bauxite land. " Prime Minister Michael Manley also made significant strides regarding food farms and land lease. These programs attempted to increase domestic food production, and decrease Jamaica's dependence on external resources.
Under the land lease program, private land was leased by the government and then re-leased to small farmers for 5 -year periods. During 1973, the first year of operation, 2700 farmers were placed on 4300 acres of land. The PNP party and Manley were determined to extend the program, and set an additional goal of placing 10, 000 farmers on 6, 000 acres of land. The combination of these programs allowed citizens with little economic wealth to generate both food and moral. During Manley's second term in office, 1989 - 1992, he was seen to be significantly less effective. He passed fewer policies, and the party concentration no longer revolved strictly around class equality.
However, it was during these years that he advocated free-market principles. It was also during this time that the PNP concentrated on enlarging the economic opportunity available in Jamaica. Michael Manley was both an effective and efficient leader. He made significant strides for the people of Jamaica. Manley made a great deal of promises, and he actually fulfilled most of them. Not all of Manley's reforms worked as well as he planned, however the fact that he tried makes him that much better than his opponents.
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Research essay sample on Biography Michael Norman Manley
