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 A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

from 1960 to 1961, and again from 1962 to 1967. He became the first Premier of the autonomous Associated State of Grenada briefly in 1967. In the first elections following the 1983 coups and the American-led

invasion of Grenada The United States and a Caribbean Peace Force, coalition of Caribbean countries invaded the small island nation of Grenada, north of Venezuela, at dawn on 25 October 1983. Codenamed Operation Urgent Fury by the U.S. military, it resulted in m ...

, he served as Prime Minister from 1984 until his death in 1989.

Early years

Blaize was born in the island of

Carriacou Carriacou ( ) is an island of the Grenadine Islands. It is a part of the nation of Grenada and is located in the south-eastern Caribbean Sea, northeast of the island of Grenada and the north coast of South America. The name is derived from the ...

, which along with the island of Petite Martinique is a part of Grenada. He moved to

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 ...

where he worked many years in the oil refinery of the Lago Oil and Transport Company.

Grenada National Party

In 1953 he formed the Grenada National Party as a rival party to the Grenada United Labour Party of Eric Gairy, who would be Blaize's main political rival for the next 25 years. Blaize entered the legislature in 1957 and became Minister of Trade and Production.

Chief Minister and Premier

He was appointed as Chief Minister in 1960 and held the additional portfolio of

finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

. He lost power to Gairy in 1961, and was reappointed in 1962 after Gairy was dismissed. In 1967 Grenada became an associated state within the British Empire, gaining more internal self-government. He was the

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

in 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 ...

from 1974 to 1976.

In Opposition

In 1976 Blaize's center-right National Party joined forces with the left-wing

New Jewel Movement The New Joint Endeavor for Welfare, Education, and Liberation, or New JEWEL Movement (NJM), was a Marxist–Leninist vanguard party in the Caribbean island nation of Grenada that was led by Maurice Bishop. Established in 1973, the NJM issued ...

led by

Maurice Bishop Maurice Rupert Bishop (29 May 1944 – 19 October 1983) was a Grenada, Grenadian revolutionary and the leader of the New Jewel Movement (NJM) – a Marxist–Leninist party that sought to prioritise socio-economic development, education and bla ...

for the elections that year, which Gairy and the GULP won. The alliance between Blaize and Bishop ended by 1979 when Bishop seized power. Blaize retired from politics and moved back to Carriacou, until after the intervention by the United States in 1983.

Prime minister

During the election campaign of 1984, Blaize merged his parties with several other center-right parties to form the New National Party, which took 14 of 15 seats in the election. In addition to being Prime Minister, Blaize became Minister of Home Affairs, Security, Information,

Finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

, Trade, Planning, Industrial Development and

and Petite Martinique Affairs. Blaize's government advocated a strong economic and military alliance for Grenada with the United States, and other overseas investment.

Death

He died in December 1989 near St. George's, Grenada, following a several-years-long battle with

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

, aged 71. Two days before his death, Blaize had been elected the first party leader of the newly formed National Party.

Family

Herbert Blaize was survived by his wife, Dame Venetia Blaize, DBE (née Venetia Ursula Davidson); three daughters, Norma Blaize (a former Consul-General of Grenada in New York), Carol Jerome and Marion Fleary; three sons, Samuel Blaize, Marvin Blaize and Christopher Blaize. He was also survived by a sister, Muriel Noel.''Ebony'' magazine article on Blaize family
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References

Sources

* ''LA GRENADE : mort du premier ministre.'', Le Monde. Jeudi 21 décembre 1989, p. 3; accessed October 7, 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Blaize, Herbert 1918 births 1989 deaths Deaths from prostate cancer Prime ministers of Grenada Finance ministers of Grenada Industry ministers of Grenada Information ministers of Grenada Interior ministers of Grenada Members of the House of Representatives of Grenada Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom New National Party (Grenada) politicians Carriacouan politicians Grenada National Party politicians The National Party politicians Deaths from cancer in Grenada 20th-century Grenadian politicians