Raphael Carl Rattray QC (18 September 1929 – 14 March 2012) was a Jamaican jurist and politician. Rattray was born in 1929 in St. Elizabeth. He began his career in law in England before being called to the Jamaica Bar in 1958. In 1969, he was appointed a

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

. He was also a founder of the law firm of Rattray, Patterson, Rattray.

Political career

Rattray was one of the founding members of the

People's National Party The People's National Party (PNP) (PNP; ) is a Social democracy, social democratic List of political parties in Jamaica, political party in Jamaica, founded in 1938 by Norman Manley, Norman Washington Manley who served as party president unti ...

as well as a founding member and past chairman of the Jamaica Council for Human Rights. From 1978 to 1980, Rattray was the leader of government business in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. In

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

, he was elected as the MP for the constituency of South East St Catherine. Rattray served as the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

from 1976 to 1980 and from 1989 to 1993. During the latter term, he concurrently served as the

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

from 1989 to 1992 and subsequently as the Minister Legal Affairs from 1992 to 1993. In 1993, Rattray was appointed as President of the Court of Appeal. He served in this capacity until 1999, when he retired from the bench.

Death

On 14 March 2012, Rattray died at his home on

St. Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( ; ; ; ) was an apostle of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was a fisherman and one of the Apostles in the New Testament, Twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus. The title First-Called () used by the Eastern Orthodox Chu ...

. He was 82 years of age and had been ailing for the previous four years. He was survived by his wife, Audrey, two sons and two daughters.

References

1929 births 2012 deaths Government ministers of Jamaica Members of the Senate of Jamaica Members of the House of Representatives of Jamaica People's National Party (Jamaica) politicians Jamaican King's Counsel Attorneys general of Jamaica Justice ministers of Jamaica {{Jamaica-politician-stub