Ptolemy Reid
2nd Prime Minister of Guyana
In office
6 October 1980 – 16 August 1984
PresidentForbes Burnham
Preceded byForbes Burnham
Succeeded byDesmond Hoyte
1st Vice President of Guyana
In office
6 October 1980 – 16 August 1984
Served with Shiw Sahai Naraine, Hugh Desmond Hoyte, Hamilton Green and Bishwaishwar Ramsaroop
PresidentForbes Burnham
Preceded byForbes Burnham
Succeeded byDesmond Hoyte
Personal details
Born(1918-05-08)8 May 1918
Dartmouth, British Guiana
Died2 September 2003(2003-09-02) (aged 85)
East Coast Demerara, Guyana
Political partyPeople's National Congress
Alma materTuskegee University

Ptolemy Alexander Reid (May 8, 1918[1] – September 2, 2003) was a Guyanese veterinarian and politician who served as Prime Minister of Guyana from 1980 to 1984.

Early life

He was born in Dartmouth, British Guiana[2] attending the village primary school where he eventually became a teacher before entering the Cyril Potter College of Education (known at the time as the Teachers' Training College).[3]

Reid studied veterinary medicine at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, then returned to Guyana in 1955, and married Ruth Chalmers.[3] Unable to find employment in British Guiana,[4] he moved to England where he became a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, and then practiced in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.[1] He returned to Guyana in 1958 and took on a position at Bookers Sugar Estate as the Chief Veterinary Officer,[3] and became involved in politics in 1960 when he joined the People's National Congress.

Political career

He ran for office in 1961, hoping to represent the constituency of Pomeroon-Supenaam, but was unsuccessful.[5]

When Forbes Burnham took power in 1964, Reid became a member of Burnham's cabinet, where he served as Deputy Premier and minister of home affairs (1964-1966),[6] finance minister (1967–1970);[7] minister of agriculture (1970-1972); and minister of agriculture and national development (1972–1974).[8][5] In 1980, when Burnham resigned as Prime Minister to become President, Reid took his place.

He retired in 1984, taking up farming in East Bank Demerara. His wife died in 1997, and he remarried Marjorie Griffith. She died in May 2003, and Reid himself followed on 2 September 2003, aged 91.[3]

Recognition

  • Order of Excellence
  • Order of Gran Cruz (Colombia)
  • Distinguished Alumni Award from the Tuskegee University[3]

Further reading

  • A Troublesome Man: About the Life of Dr. Ptolemy Reid, Prime Minister of Guyana (1980-1984) by Stella Bagot, Balboa Press 2018 ISBN 978-1-9822-0684-0

References

  1. 1 2 Ptolemy Reid passes on, by Ruel Johnson, at the Guyana Chronicle; published September 4, 2003; archived at Land Of Six Peoples; retrieved November 13, 2016
  2. ↑ Hundreds in Georgetown bid farewell to `the Elder Statesman’, by Linda Rutherford, in the Guyana Chronicle; published September 7, 2003; archived at Land Of Six Peoples; retrieved November 13, 2016
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Caribbean Elections Biography | Ptolemy Alexander Reid". www.caribbeanelections.com. Retrieved 2021-01-02.
  4. ↑ Former Prime Minister Dr Ptolemy Reid dies, at Stabroek News; published September 7, 2003; archived at Land Of Six Peoples; retrieved November 13, 2016
  5. 1 2 Obituary: Ptolemy Reid: The last hard man, at Stabroek News; published September 7, 2003; archived at Land Of Six Peoples; retrieved November 13, 2016
  6. ↑ "Historical information events and dates on the Parliament of Guyana from 1718 to 2006" (PDF). Parliament of Guyana. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  7. ↑ Bidwell, Robin (October 24, 2018). Guide to Government Ministers: The British Empire and Successor States 1900-1972. Routledge. ISBN 9781317792260 – via Google Books.
  8. ↑ Historical information events and dates on the Parliament of Guyana from 1718 to 2006 Parliament of Guyana
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