Janet Rosenberg Jagan (née Rosenberg; 20 October 1920 – 28 March 2009) was an American-born Guyanese politician who served as the

President of Guyana The president of Guyana is the head of state and the head of government of Guyana, as well as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the Republic, according to the Constitution of Guyana. The president is also the chancellor of the Orde ...

, serving from December 19, 1997, to August 11, 1999. She was the first female president of Guyana. She previously served as the first female

Prime Minister of Guyana The prime minister of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana is an elected member of the National Assembly of Guyana who is the principal assistant and advisor to the President of Guyana, president as well as the leader of government business in ...

from March 17, 1997, to December 19, 1997. The wife of

Cheddi Jagan Cheddi Berret Jagan ( ; 22 March 1918 – 6 March 1997) was a Guyanese politician and dentist who was first elected Chief Minister in 1953 and later Premier of British Guiana from 1961 to 1964. He later served as President of Guyana from 19 ...

, whom she succeeded as president, she was awarded Guyana's highest national award, the Order of Excellence, in 1993, and the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

Gold Medal for Women's Rights in 1998.Hinds, David. "Janet Jagan and the Politics of Ethnicity in Guyana" in Cynthia Barrow-Giles, ed. ''Women in Caribbean Politics'' Kingston, Miami: Ian Randle, 2011. Skard, Torild. "Janet Jagan", ''Women of power - half a century of female presidents and prime ministers worldwide'', Bristol: Policy Press, 2014.

Early years and marriage

Jagan was born Janet Rosenberg on the south side of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, on October 20, 1920.Profile of Janet Jagan
, jagan.org.Rohter, Larry

''The New York Times'', 14 December 1997. Her parents, Kathryn (née Kronberg) (1895–1990) and Charles Rosenberg (1891–1957), were

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. She had one brother, Maurice Rosenberg (1917-2006). Her maternal grandparents, Adolph and Rosa Kronberg (née Appelbaum), were Jewish immigrants. Adolph immigrated to Chicago from

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

and Rosa came from

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. The Rosenberg family lived in a

bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is typically single or one and a half storey, if a smaller upper storey exists it is frequently set in the roof and Roof window, windows that come out from the roof, and may be surrounded by wide ve ...

at 7532 S. East End Avenue in the middle-class, formerly all-white neighborhood of South Shore. In December 1942, aged 22, while working as a student nurse at

Cook County Hospital The John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County (shortened ''Stroger Hospital'', formerly Cook County Hospital) is a public hospital in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is part of Cook County Health, along with Provident Hospital of Cook Cou ...

, she met

, a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

Indo-Guyanese Indo-Guyanese or Guyanese Indians, are Guyanese nationals of Indian origin who trace their ancestry to India and the wider subcontinent. They are the descendants of indentured servants and settlers who migrated from India beginning in 1838, a ...

dentistry student at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

. They married on August 5, 1943, and in December that year she moved with him to Guyana, where he set up his dental practice.

In Guyana

In Guyana, she took part in labour activism along with her husband and joined the British Guianese Labour Union. She also worked in her husband's dental clinic as a nurse for 10 years. In 1946, she founded the Women's Political and Economic Organization and co-founded the Political Affairs Committee.

Political career

Janet Jagan unsuccessfully ran for a seat from Central Georgetown in the 1947 general election. On January 1, 1950,History of the PPP
PPP website. she and her husband were co-founders of the left-wing People's Progressive Party (PPP); Janet served as the PPP's General Secretary from 1950 to 1970. Also in 1950, Jagan was elected to the Georgetown City Council. She was subsequently elected to the House of Assembly in the April 1953 election,"The General Election of 1953"
Guyana.org. winning a seat from Essequibo constituency. She was one of three women to win seats in that election; following the election, she was chosen as Deputy Speaker of the Legislature. The PPP, a

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

party, opposed British colonial rule of Guyana. After its electoral victory in April 1953, the PPP briefly formed the government, but the British government had the PPP government removed later in the year due to concerns about the Jagans' alleged communist sympathies. Leading the country for only 133 days in 1953 following the free and universal election, she and Cheddi were first deposed and then jailed in 1955 on orders of

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

who feared the existence of a

communist state A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

in the Western Hemisphere. Churchill wished to prevent the potential for the Soviet Union to form ties with the new government, though this never occurred. Cheddi and Janet remained in jail for five months; they were subsequently kept under house arrest for two years. Churchill had modified the Guyanese constitution to prevent her and Cheddi from holding the office of President or Prime Minister. In 1957, she was re-elected to the House of Assembly from Essequibo constituency and became Minister of Labour, Health and Housing. Retaining his popularity, in 1961, Cheddi was re-elected Prime Minister. Janet later succeeded Claude Christian as Minister of Home Affairs upon Christian's death in 1963, but resigned from the Cabinet in 1964. As a member of the Elections Commission for the opposition in 1967, she expressed concern about the possibility of vote rigging. She was also the editor of the PPP newspaper ''Mirror'' from 1973 to 1997. Jagan was elected to Parliament in 1973 and was re-elected in 1980, 1985, and 1992, eventually becoming the longest-serving member of Parliament (46 years). Cheddi Jagan was elected as President of Guyana in 1992, and Janet Jagan became First Lady. She represented Guyana at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

for three months in 1993, temporarily replacing Rudy Insanally when the latter was President of the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

. After Cheddi Jagan's death, Janet Jagan was sworn in as Prime Minister as well as First Vice President on March 17, 1997. Jagan was the presidential candidate of the PPP in the December 1997 election. The PPP won the election, making Jagan the first female President of

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

, as well as the country's first Jewish and first U.S.-born leader. She was also the fourth woman elected in her own right as chief executive of a country in the Western Hemisphere, after

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Vigdís Finnbogadóttir (; born 15 April 1930) is an Icelandic politician who served as the fourth president of Iceland from 1980 to 1996, the first woman to hold the position and the first in the world to be democratically elected president of ...

of Iceland,

Eugenia Charles Dame Mary Eugenia Charles (15 May 1919 – 6 September 2005) was a Dominican politician who was Prime Minister of Dominica from 21 July 1980 until 14 June 1995. The first female lawyer in Dominica, she was Dominica's first, and to date only, fem ...

Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...

and

Violeta Chamorro Violeta Barrios Torres de Chamorro (; 18 October 1929 – 14 June 2025) was a Nicaraguan politician who served as the 55th president of Nicaragua from 1990 to 1997. She was the country's first female president. Previously, she was a member of ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

. She was named a Freedom hero by

The My Hero Project The My Hero Project is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization established in 1995 by philanthropist Karen Pritzker, Jeanne Meyers and Rita Stern Milch that promotes the sharing of positive role models from around the world for the online digital story ...

Resignation and death

On July 1, 1999, after Jagan returned from the European-Latin American summit in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, she was admitted to St. Joseph's Mercy Hospital in the capital, Georgetown, due to chest pains and exhaustion. She was treated for a heart condition and released from the hospital on July 3. Later in the month, she underwent tests regarding her heart condition at the Akron City Hospital in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

; she was discharged on July 23. Returning to Guyana, she received heart medication and was told that bypass surgery was not necessary. Jagan resigned as President on August 8, 1999 because her health left her incapable of "vigorous, strong leadership"; she said that Finance Minister

Bharrat Jagdeo Bharrat Jagdeo (born 23 January 1964) is a Guyana, Guyanese politician who has been serving as Vice President of Guyana since 2020, in the administration of President of Guyana, President Irfaan Ali. He had previously also held the office from 19 ...

would be her successor. Jagdeo was sworn in as President on August 11. Despite her resignation, Jagan remained active in the PPP. At the PPP's 29th Congress, Jagan had received the second highest number of votes (671) in the election to the party's Central Committee,Press release on Central Committee election
August 3, 2008.
, ''Guyana Times'', 13 August 2008. held on August 2, 2008. She was then elected to the PPP Executive Committee,
PPP press statement, August 12, 2008. in addition to being elected as editor of the PPP paper ''Thunder'', on August 12, 2008. Jagan later left Guyana for

Maracaibo Maracaibo ( , ; ) is a city and municipality in northwestern Venezuela, on the western shore of the strait that connects Lake Maracaibo to the Gulf of Venezuela. It is the largest city in Venezuela and is List of cities in Venezuela by population ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

for treatment. She later went to

Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará), often called Belém of Pará, is the capital and largest city of the state of Pará in the north of B ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

for additional treatment. Janet Jagan died of an abdominal aneurysm on March 28, 2009, in Georgetown. Her body was cremated on March 31, 2009 in Guyana.

Writings

Janet Jagan was long involved with the literary and cultural life of Guyana. She published early poems by

Martin Carter Martin Wylde Carter (7 June 1927 – 13 December 1997) was a Guyanese poet and political activist. Widely regarded as the greatest Guyanese poet, and one of the most important poets of the Caribbean region, Carter is best known for his p ...

in ''Thunder'' (which she edited) and supported the publication of early Carter collections such as ''The Hill of Fire Glows Red''. She strongly believed that Guyanese children needed books which reflected their own realities. In 1993,

Peepal Tree Press Peepal Tree Press is a publisher based in Leeds, England which publishes Caribbean, Black British, and South Asian fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama and academic books. Poet Kwame Dawes has said: "Peepal Tree Press's position as the leading pu ...

published her ''When Grandpa Cheddi was a Boy and Other Stories'', followed by ''Patricia, the Baby Manatee'' (1995), ''Anastasia the Ant-Eater'' (1997) and ''The Dog Who Loved Flowers''.International Who's Who of Women

References

External links

Remembering Janet Jagan
at Cheddi Jagan Research Centre

(archived) , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Jagan, Janet 1920 births 2009 deaths 20th-century women prime ministers Presidents of Guyana Prime ministers of Guyana Vice presidents of Guyana First ladies of Guyana People's Progressive Party (Guyana) politicians Women presidents in South America Women government ministers of Guyana Women vice presidents in South America 20th-century Guyanese women writers Jewish prime ministers Jewish women politicians Guyanese Jews Jewish socialists Politicians from Chicago American emigrants to Guyana Former United States citizens American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent American people of Romanian-Jewish descent Guyanese people of Hungarian-Jewish descent Guyanese people of Romanian descent Recipients of the Order of Excellence of Guyana Health ministers of Guyana Housing ministers of Guyana Interior ministers of Guyana Labour ministers of Guyana 20th-century American Jews First women presidents 20th-century women presidents Women prime ministers in South America 20th-century Guyanese politicians 20th-century Guyanese women politicians