Leigh Richardson (26 April 1924 – 27 October 2008) was a Honduran-born Belizean politician. Richardson served as the leader 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 ...

in the 1950s, and also as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

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 ...

Early life

Richardson was born to Belizean parents in Puerto Castilla,

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

. He moved with his parents to Belize, then known as

British Honduras British Honduras was a Crown colony on the east coast of Central America — specifically located on the southern edge of the Yucatan Peninsula from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony — renamed Belize from June 1973

, at the age of five. A leader in Belize's independence movement, he was imprisoned in 1951 along with Philip Goldson for charges of sedition brought against them by the British colonial authorities. He was co-founder of the ''Belize Billboard'' and held leadership positions in the People's Committee.

Formation of the PUP and aftermath

Richardson was a founding member of the People's United Party and was elected as its second leader. He led the PUP to its first major political victory in

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

. After George Cadle Price's successful takeover of the PUP in 1956, along with Goldson and others Richardson broke with the party and formed the Honduran Independence Party, which later merged with the National Party to create the National Independence Party (NIP). Under Richardson's leadership the HIP finished a distant second in the 1957 elections and was completely shut out of the British Honduras Legislative Assembly. Richardson moved to

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

in early 1958, effectively leaving party leadership to Goldson. He later moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. After Richardson's death his family claimed he was exiled from Belize. Later the NIP along with the Liberal Party and the People's Development Movement joined forces in 1973 for opposition politics in Belize (then called British Honduras) and became the United Democratic Party (UDP).

Honors

On 18 September 2008, shortly before his death and despite living abroad for decades, Richardson was formally recognized as a Belizean patriot. He was conferred with 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 ...

, the nation's third-highest honor, during that year's independence celebrations. Richardson's sister accepted the honour on his behalf, as he was too ill to attend. Richardson died in October 2008 due to complications from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

References

1924 births 2008 deaths Mayors of Belize City Recipients of the Order of Distinction (Belize) People's United Party politicians Honduran Independence Party politicians National Independence Party (Belize) politicians Deaths from Parkinson's disease in New York (state) Honduran emigrants Immigrants to Belize Belizean expatriates in the United States People from Colón Department (Honduras) {{Belize-politician-stub