Sir Florizel Augustus Glasspole (25 September 1909 – 25 November 2000) was the third and longest-serving

governor-general of Jamaica The governor-general of Jamaica () is the representative of the Jamaican monarch, currently King Charles III, in Jamaica. The governor-general is appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister of Jamaica. The functions ...

, in office from 1973 to 1991.

Early life and education

Florizel Glasspole was born in Kingston,

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 ...

on 25 September 1909. His parents were the Rev. Theophilus A. Glasspole, a Methodist minister, and Florence (''née'' Baxter). Glasspole received his early education at Buff Bay Elementary School in Portland between 1914 and 1918. He then attended Central branch Elementary School and Wolmer's Boys School (1922-1926). In 1946, he enrolled in

Ruskin College Ruskin College, originally known as Ruskin Hall, Oxford, is a higher education institution and part of the University of West London, in Oxford, England. It is not a Colleges of the University of Oxford, college of Oxford University. Named ...

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, where he majored in Trade Union Studies on a one-year scholarship awarded by the British Trade Union Congress.

Career

Glasspole's first job was in the Civil Service with the Registrar of Titles Office in 1926. From 1930, he worked as an accounting clerk at the Serge Island Sugar Estate near Seaforth St Thomas. Between 1937 and 1955, Glasspole was general secretary of the Jamaica United Clerks' Association, of the Water Commission Manual Workers' Union, of the Municipal and Parochial General Workers' Union and of the National Workers' Union. He was president of the Jamaica Printers' and Allied Workers' Union, the Machado Employees' Union, and the General Hospital and Allied Workers' Union. Glasspole was also, from 1939 to 1947, General Secretary of the Trades Union Advisory Council and, from 1947 to 1952, General Secretary of the Jamaican Trade Union Congress.

Politics

Glasspole was an early member 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 ...

, he was elected to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

in the first

universal suffrage Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...

elections, in 1944, from the

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

of Kingston East and Port Royal, and held the seat through every election until his retirement in 1973. From 1955 to 1957 he served as minister of labour and from 1957 to 1962 he was minister of education under Norman Manley before independence. He reprieved the latter role from 1972 to 1973, under Michael Manley.

Governor-General

Florizel Glasspole was appointed to the office of governor-general in 1973. He held that office until 1991, when he was succeeded by Howard Cooke.

Personal life and death

Florizel Glasspole was married to Ina Josephine (''née'' Kinlocke) and had one daughter Sara Lou Glasspole-Mena. Glasspole died in Kingston on 25 November 2000, aged 91.

Awards and decorations

Florizel Glasspole Street in Port Royal is named for him. * Commander of the

Order of Distinction The Order of Distinction (OD) is a national order in the Jamaican honours system. It is the sixth in order of precedence of the Orders of Societies of Honour, which were instituted by an Act of Parliament (''The National Honours and Awards Ac ...

(1970) * Commander of the Order of the Nation (1973) * Order of Andrés Bello (Venezuela, 1973) * Knight of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem (1974) * Order of the Liberator (Venezuela, 1978) * Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (1981) * LL.D. (Hon)

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 18 English-speaking countries and territories in t ...

(1982) * Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

(1982) * Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (1983)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glasspole, Florizel 1909 births 2000 deaths Politicians from Kingston, Jamaica Governors-general of Jamaica Jamaican knights Recipients of the Order of the Nation Jamaican Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Jamaican Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Knights of the Order of St John Commanders of the Order of Distinction People's National Party (Jamaica) politicians Members of the House of Representatives of Jamaica Education ministers of Jamaica Wolmer's Schools alumni