Godfrey P. Smith (born 8 May 1968) is a

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

an jurist, attorney and politician. A member of the

People's United Party The People's United Party (, PUP) is one of two major political parties in Belize. It is currently the governing party of Belize after success in the 2025 Belizean general election, winning a majority of 26 seats out of 31 in the Belizean Hou ...

(PUP), Smith is a former member of the Belize House of Representatives.

Career

Smith was named Attorney-General of Belize in 1999. In 2003 he became

Minister of Foreign Affairs 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 foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

, Defence and National Emergency Management Organization. Smith defeated Bobby Usher, the nephew of former Prime Minister George Cadle Price, to receive the PUP's nomination as its candidate for Pickstock constituency in the 2003 election. Price had represented Pickstock since 1989, a constituency that had always been held by the PUP. Smith won the seat in the 2003 election and ran for a second term in the February 2008 election, facing

Wilfred Elrington Wilfred Peter "Sedi" Elrington (born 20 November 1948)

of the United Democratic Party (UDP). This time Smith was defeated, and the PUP lost power in the election. In August 2004, Smith was part of the G-7 group of ministers who demanded the dismissal of Ralph Fonseca from the Cabinet and resigned when Prime Minister

Said Musa Said Wilbert Musa (, born 19 March 1944) is a Belizean lawyer and politician. He was the third prime minister of Belize from 28 August 1998 to 8 February 2008. Early life and education Said Wilbert Musa was born in 1944 in San Ignacio in the ...

did not meet that demand. Later, Smith was re-elected as one of the PUP's deputy leaders in July 2007. In April 2006 he gave up the foreign and defense ministries and became minister of tourism, information and emergency management. Godfrey smith was also a writer. He wrote the biography of Honorable George Cadle Price, and is currently writing the biography of a Jamaican government official. He also recently wrote a biography of Mr Norman Manley of Jamaica. Smith is now serving as a Justice of the Supreme Court of

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...

Education and personal life

Smith was born in

Belize City Belize City is the largest city in Belize. It was once the capital city, capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2022 census, Belize City has a population of 63,999 people. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, which is a ...

. From 1989 to 1994, he attended the

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 ...

, where he received a LL.B. degree. Smith also has a

Legal Education Certificate In the Commonwealth Caribbean, a Legal Education Certificate is a professional certification awarded to a person who has completed a course of study and training at a law school established by the Council of Legal Education. It was created by Art ...

from Norman Manley Law School. He later received a master of arts in international relations from

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Massachusetts in 2002. He is married to Valerie Woods, who has been Speaker of the country's

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 ...

since December 2020.

References

External links

Reprints of Smith's newspaper column
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Godfrey 1968 births Living people Politicians from Belize City British Honduras people People's United Party politicians Attorneys-general of Belize Foreign ministers of Belize Government ministers of Belize Members of the Belize House of Representatives for Pickstock Belizean media personalities