Name: Eric Matthew Gairy
Title: Chief Minister 1957–62 and Prime Minister 1967–79. He was knighted in 1977
Birth: 24 September, 1902
Death: June 3, 1989 (aged 86)
Region: Granda
Religion / Political: Centre-left Politician
Main interests:
Notable ideas: Initially a champion of the rural poor, he founded the Grenada United Labour Party (GULP) in 1950. He became chief minister of the Federation of the West Indies in 1957. As prime minister he led Grenada to independence within the British Commonwealth in 1974, but his regime became increasingly autocratic and corrupt, imposing restrictions on the media and unions, and order through his ‘Mongoose Gang’ of thugs. In 1979 he was ousted in a left-wing coup and, unsuccessful in further elections, he retired as GULP leader in 1996.
Works: Founding the Manual, Maritime, and Menial Workers’ Union in the late 1940s, and the left-of-centre GULP, the island’s first political party. Elected to Grenada’s Legislative Council in 1951, he antagonized white planters by leading a campaign to increase workers’ pay. As a result, he was exiled to the dependency of Carriacou, 48 km/30 miles away, for six years. He founded the Grenada United Labour Party in 1950, which began as a labour union but later took part in elections, and served as Chief Minister from 1954 to 1960 and from 1961 until 1962 when he was dismissed for corruption. He served as Premier between 1967 and 1974, and became the first Prime Minister of Grenada from 1974. He led his country to independence from Great Britain in 1974.
Influences: Gairy was considered a dictator by most and mentally unstable due to his belief in UFOs & vodoo. Gairy began lobbying the UN in 1977 to create an agency or department to start research on UFO and extraterrestrial life, resulting in their Resolution 33/426 on Extraterrestrial Life in 1978.
Influenced: In the 1970 Miss World pageant in London, controversy followed after black contestant Jennifer Hosten of Grenada won, and another black contestant from South Africa placed second. Since Gairy was on the judging panel, inevitably there were many accusations that the contest had been rigged.
