Ben Joseph Jones (5 August 1924 – 10 February 2005) was a Grenadian politician. He was a lawyer before being elected to Parliament as a member of the New National Party in 1984. In 1984 he began serving as

foreign minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

in the government of his party's leader,

Herbert Blaize Herbert Augustus Blaize PC (26 February 1918 – 19 December 1989) was a Grenadian politician and leader of the Grenada National Party. When Grenada was still a British Crown Colony he served as the first Chief Minister from 1960 to 1961, ...

. When Blaize died in December 1989, Jones became

prime minister of Grenada This is a list of Head of government, heads of government of Grenada, from the establishment of the office of the chief minister in 1960 to the present day. List of officeholders ;Political parties ;Other affiliations ;Symbols Died in ...

. He served until March 1990, when his party lost elections. He also gave up his position as foreign minister at that time, but was reappointed later that year. Though his party was out of power, Jones continued serving as

until 1991.

Biography

Jones was born in Carriere, Saint Andrew Parish, Grenada, and was educated at the Belair Presbyterian Primary School until 1943. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he enlisted in the Windward Islands Battalion of the South Caribbean Force. He subsequently worked in

Aruba Aruba, officially the Country of Aruba, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in the southern Caribbean Sea north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguaná Peninsula, Paraguaná and northwest of Curaçao. In 19 ...

in the oil refineries for nine years, then in 1953 migrated to the United Kingdom, determined to study law. He eventually entered Gray's Inn and at the same time enrolled as an external student at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. He was called to the Bar on 6 February 1962. He returned to Grenada in 1964 to start a private law practice but the following year moved into government service as a magistrate.Ben Jones biography at The Grenada Revolution Online.
/ref> In 1966, he was appointed Senior Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs and was appointed Opposition Senator from 1967 to 1979. In 1984, he was elected to the

House of Representatives of Grenada The House of Representatives of Grenada is the lower chamber of the country's bicameral parliament. Together with the upper chamber, the Senate, it meets in the New Houses of Parliament in the capital St. George's. The House of Representativ ...

, winning the St. Andrew's South West constituency under the New National Party (NNP). He served in Legal Affairs as Attorney General, and as Minister of External Affairs, Agriculture and Tourism. He was deputy Prime Minister from 1984 to 1989, and, following the death of Herbert Blaize, was a short-term Prime Minister from December 1989 until March 1990. He was

finance minister A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

simultaneously. He succeeded Blaize as the leader of the newly formed National Party. He resumed his private practice in 1991. Popularly known as "Uncle Ben", Jones died in his sleep at his home in Carriere, St. Andrew's, at the age of 80, and was given a state funeral.

References

External links

Hugh O'Shaughnessy, "Ben Jones - Wily but unassuming prime minister of Grenada" (obituary), ''The Independent'', 3 March 2005.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Ben 1924 births 2005 deaths Prime ministers of Grenada Deputy prime ministers of Grenada Finance ministers of Grenada Ministers of foreign affairs of Grenada Agriculture ministers of Grenada Tourism ministers of Grenada Members of the House of Representatives of Grenada New National Party (Grenada) politicians 20th-century Grenadian lawyers British Army personnel of World War II Alumni of University of London Worldwide People from Saint Andrew Parish, Grenada Grenadian expatriates in the United Kingdom 20th-century Grenadian politicians