Former Guyanese President Janet Jagan dies at 88

Janet Jagan, the first female President of Guyana, died in Georgetown early Saturday. She was 88.

Jagan was admitted to the Georgetown Public Hospital late Friday after complaining of feeling unwell. A statement from health Leslie Ramsammy said the former Head of State died as a result of an abdominal aneurysm.

Jagan led the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) to victory in the 1997 elections, having taken over leadership of the party following the death of her husband, Dr Cheddi Jagan, who was President at the time of his death. She resigned in August 1999 due to ill-health.

Jagan, who authored several books and at one time worked as the editor of the PPP’s newspaper, The Thunder, was born in the Chicago, Illinois.

She moved to Guyana in the 1940s with her husband, whom she met while Dr Jagan was studying to be a dentist at Northwestern University.

She was a co-founding member of the PPP and served in various political and government capacities over the years.

Jagan has been honoured with numerous local and international awards, including the Order of Excellence, the nation’s highest honour; Woman of Achievement Award from the University of Guyana; and the Gandhi Gold Medal for Peace, Democracy and Women's Rights awarded by UNESCO.

In a statement to mark the passing of the former Guyanese leader, Trinidad & Tobago's opposition leader Basdeo Panday said:

"ON BEHALF of the Parliamentary Opposition of Trinidad and Tobago, the Executive, members and supporters of the United National Congress, and on my own behalf and that of my family, I wish to extend deepest condolences to the people of Guyana on the passing of former President Janet Jagan yesterday.

"Lady Jagan’s contribution to the social, political and economic development of Guyana is immeasurable and truly reflects a lifetime of service, having arrived in the country in 1943 at the age of 23 and immediately entering into politics with her husband, the late Cheddi Jagan who himself served Guyana as President.

"She was a founding member of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Guyana’s first mass-based political organization, and led by example. She was personally involved in implementing strategies to promote the messages, ideals and objectives of the PPP, and in the struggle for Guyana’s independence from Britain both she and her husband were imprisoned in 1955.

"The region has lost a true hero and a fighter and the people of Guyana have lost a servant and leader.

"May her soul rest in peace".