(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Most Honourable Percival J Patterson, former Prime Minister of Jamaica will receive the Order of the Caribbean Community (OCC), the Region’s highest award, on 2 July 2009 at the Opening Ceremony for the 30th Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM, in Georgetown Guyana.

The honour is in recognition of Mr. Pattersons’s “outstanding contribution in the area of the Region’s External Trade Relations and in fostering relations with the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group (ACP) especially in its formative years.”

Percival Noel James Patterson, ON, QC, PC, O.E., familiarly known as P.J Patterson, was born on 10 April 1935 in St.  Andrew, Jamaica and was the longest serving Prime Minister of this CARICOM Member State, serving from the period 1992- 2006.

Mr Patterson’s political career was built on a solid base in the legal profession having studied law and being called to the Bar in England.

On his return he became an active member of the People’s National Party (PNP) and began his career in cabinet as Minister of Tourism in 1972 and rose to become the Deputy Prime Minister to Prime Minister Michael Manley in 1989. In 1992, Mr Patterson was elected by the people of Jamaica as their Prime Minister and was re-elected three times.

Mr. Patterson received his secondary education at Calabar High School and is a product of the University of the West Indies where he pursued a Bachelor’s degree at the Mona Campus, Jamaica. He then headed to the London School of Economics following which he enrolled at the Inns of Court (Middle Temple) where he came in contact with a number of future leaders of the countries of the developing world who were fellow students in England.

While pursuing his Bachelors degree at the University of the West Indies, he served as Chairman of the university’s External Affairs Commission, where he gained exposure to world leaders and international political thought through attendance at a number of international student fora. It was also at the university that he developed a commitment to Caribbean regionalism as well as to the causes of the countries of the developing world.

During his tenure as Jamaica’s Foreign Minister he provided dynamic and strategic leadership for the Caribbean in the negotiations that led to the Lomé Convention and the Sugar Protocol. As the President of the ACP/EU Ministerial Council he led negotiations for the ACP group of countries with the European Community. As Chairman of the ACP/EEC Ministerial Conference, he played a pivotal role in forging an agreement on the basic framework for the original Lomé Convention, which influenced the outcome of subsequent negotiations that led to the Convention signed in 1975. He has served as President and Spokesman of the ACP Ministerial Council on a number of occasions.

Mr Patterson has also excelled on the world stage having contributed to numerous Conventions and Statements in the international arena including the Valletta Statement on Multilateral Trade and the Gozo Statement on Vulnerable Small States. These have helped to shape north-south relationship and influence the negotiating position of developing countries.

He is a member of the Global Leadership Foundation, an NGO Composed of a number of former statesmen, ex-presidents and Prime Ministers founded in 2004 by former State President of South Africa and Nobel Prize laureate F.W. de Klerk.

Mr Patterson’s outstanding career as political leader, integrationist, trade unionist and advocate for social reform has been rewarded with several high honours including the Order of Merit of Jamaica, the United Nations Gold Medal for his advocacy against apartheid, and the Joliot Curie Peace Award of the World Peace Council.

Upon becoming the Prime Minister of Jamaica in 1992 Mr. Patterson was invested with the Order of the Nation allowing him to be known as "The Most Honourable" and to use the post-nominal letters "O.N."

In 2006 he was invested with the Order of Excellence of Guyana allowing him to use the post nominal letters "O.E."

Contact:  piu@caricom.org