Tweet
Sad to hear she was murdered but I had heard about her LONG ago.
Madame Rose Leon, the first Jamaican woman to become a government minister, and the only Jamaican to have served in both a JLP and PNP Cabinet.
Rose Agatha Leon (nee Huie) was born in Kingston on October 20, 1911 and was educated at Central Branch School, Wolmer's High School for Girls, and the Abyssinian School of Cosmetic Chemistry. She and her husband, Arthur Alexander Leon, established a manufacturing company, Leon's Beauty Products in 1939, and later the venerable Leon's School of Beauty.
She joined the Jamaica Labour Party in 1944 and was elected chairman of the party in 1948. Madame Rose was an ardent party activist and fund-raiser. The late Lady Bustamente said of her, "No one in either the JLP or the PNP has been able to match the length or quality of her service for 12 years (as chairman of the party)."
After winning the Western St Andrew seat for the JLP in the 1949 general election, Madame Rose began eight distinctive years of service as a member of parliament. When the ministerial system was established in the Jamaica Constitution in 1953, she was appointed minister of health and housing.
In 1960, Madame Rose left the JLP, but was unsuccessful in running as an independent candidate. In 1967, she was invited to join the PNP by Norman Manley, winning a seat in the local government election in 1969. She served as chairman of the KSAC Roads and Works Committee and deputy mayor of the KSAC in 1971. In 1972, Madame Rose regained the West Rural St Andrew seat for the PNP and was appointed minister of local government. She lost the seat in 1976 to Dr Mavis Gilmour and was appointed special adviser to the minister of social security until her retirement from active politics in 1980.
Madame Rose was a founding member of the Jamaica Manufacturers' Association, serving as its president in 1967. She became one of their longest-serving board members and was made a Life Member in 1993. She was also a founding member of the Jamaica Federation of Women, along with Lady Huggins and Mrs Mary Morris Knibb.
In a tribute given by Ambassador Dudley Thompson in 2002, he observed: "Always uppermost in her mind and actions were the underclass, the underprivileged in our society. She had sincere and genuine compassion for them and they in turn replied with an effusion of popular love... She sent a clear signal that the women of Jamaica were ready and that the woman's place is not only at home, but in the forefront of national development."
Rose Agatha Leon (nee Huie) was born in Kingston on October 20, 1911 and was educated at Central Branch School, Wolmer's High School for Girls, and the Abyssinian School of Cosmetic Chemistry. She and her husband, Arthur Alexander Leon, established a manufacturing company, Leon's Beauty Products in 1939, and later the venerable Leon's School of Beauty.
She joined the Jamaica Labour Party in 1944 and was elected chairman of the party in 1948. Madame Rose was an ardent party activist and fund-raiser. The late Lady Bustamente said of her, "No one in either the JLP or the PNP has been able to match the length or quality of her service for 12 years (as chairman of the party)."
After winning the Western St Andrew seat for the JLP in the 1949 general election, Madame Rose began eight distinctive years of service as a member of parliament. When the ministerial system was established in the Jamaica Constitution in 1953, she was appointed minister of health and housing.
In 1960, Madame Rose left the JLP, but was unsuccessful in running as an independent candidate. In 1967, she was invited to join the PNP by Norman Manley, winning a seat in the local government election in 1969. She served as chairman of the KSAC Roads and Works Committee and deputy mayor of the KSAC in 1971. In 1972, Madame Rose regained the West Rural St Andrew seat for the PNP and was appointed minister of local government. She lost the seat in 1976 to Dr Mavis Gilmour and was appointed special adviser to the minister of social security until her retirement from active politics in 1980.
Madame Rose was a founding member of the Jamaica Manufacturers' Association, serving as its president in 1967. She became one of their longest-serving board members and was made a Life Member in 1993. She was also a founding member of the Jamaica Federation of Women, along with Lady Huggins and Mrs Mary Morris Knibb.
In a tribute given by Ambassador Dudley Thompson in 2002, he observed: "Always uppermost in her mind and actions were the underclass, the underprivileged in our society. She had sincere and genuine compassion for them and they in turn replied with an effusion of popular love... She sent a clear signal that the women of Jamaica were ready and that the woman's place is not only at home, but in the forefront of national development."
Comment