Sir Donald Burns Sangster ON GCVO (26 October 1911 – 11 April 1967) was a

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

n solicitor and politician, and the second Prime Minister of Jamaica.

Early life

Donald Burns Sangster was born in Black River in the parish of St. Elizabeth,

. His father William B. Sangster was a land surveyor and a planter. His mother's name is Cassandra Sangster (née Plummer). Sangster attended Munro College in St. Elizabeth.

Political career

He entered politics at the age of 21 in 1933, when he was elected to the Parish Council of St Elizabeth, Jamaica. In 1944 he was elected to the

House of Representatives of Jamaica The Parliament of Jamaica () is the legislature, legislative branch of the government of Jamaica. Officially, they are known as the Houses of Parliament. It consists of three elements: The Monarchy of Jamaica, Crown (represented by the Govern ...

as a member of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). He then went on to become Minister of Social Welfare and Labour and later,

Minister of Finance 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 portfolio ...

. He was appointed as

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

on 11 March 1963. He became Acting Prime Minister in February 1964 when Prime Minister Sir Alexander Bustamante became ill. On 21 February, in the 1967 Jamaican general election, the JLP were victorious again, winning 33 out of 53 seats, with the PNP taking 20 seats. He succeeded Bustamante as Prime Minister on 23 February 1967, and he only had one cabinet meeting before he fell ill less than two weeks later and became the only prime minister to die in office on 11 April, after suffering a

subarachnoid haemorrhage Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is bleeding into the subarachnoid space—the area between the arachnoid membrane and the pia mater surrounding the brain. Symptoms may include a severe headache of rapid onset, vomiting, decreased level of c ...

. His face appears on the Jamaican five thousand dollar banknote alongside

Hugh Shearer Hugh Lawson Shearer (18 May 1923 – 15 July 2004) was a Jamaican trade unionist and politician, who served as the 3rd Prime Minister of Jamaica, from 1967 to 1972. He was also Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Fore ...

Sangster International Airport Sangster International Airport is an international airport located east of Montego Bay, Jamaica. The airport is capable of handling nine million passengers per year. It serves as the most popular airport for tourists visiting the north coast ...

Montego Bay Montego Bay () is the capital of the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of Saint James Parish, Jamaica, St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth most populous urban area in the country, after Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Spanish Town, and Portmore ...

is named after him.

Knighthood

Sangster was taken ill on 18 March 1967, and was flown by the U.S. government to the

Montreal Neurological Institute The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC; ) is one of two major healthcare networks in the city of Montreal, Quebec. It is affiliated with McGill University and one of the largest medical complexes in Montreal. It is the largest hospital system i ...

for specialist treatment. He went into a coma a few weeks later on 1 April, and was knighted by Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

during that period; he died 10 days later.

References

Sources

* , '' The Jamaica Gleaner'', 3 September 2007. 1911 births 1967 deaths Deaths from subarachnoid hemorrhage Deputy prime ministers of Jamaica Finance ministers of Jamaica Government ministers of Jamaica Jamaica Labour Party politicians Jamaican knights Recipients of the Order of the Nation Jamaican Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Members of the House of Representatives of Jamaica People from Saint Elizabeth Parish Prime ministers of Jamaica People educated at Munro College {{Jamaica-politician-stub