Ciudad de Belice (Belice), 1919 – 2011

By Rodrigo Nobile

The firstborn of a family of ten children and a seminarian for a brief period at St. John’s College in Guatemala, George Price never married or had children. He is known for his simple lifestyle and great charisma. In addition to holding political positions, he wrote poetry books. He began his political career in the 1940s, engaging in municipal politics. In 1947, he was elected to the Belize City Council and, three years later, was one of the founders of the People’s United Party (PUP), which fought for the independence of Belize, then known as British Honduras.

In 1954, he was elected to the Legislative Council of the Colony. From 1958 to 1962, he served as the mayor of Belize City. In 1964, when England granted administrative autonomy to Belize, he became the head of government. He became prime minister on September 21, 1981, the year of Belize’s independence. In 1984, his party was defeated in the elections by the United Democratic Party (UDP), and he was succeeded by Manuel Esquivel. He went on to lead the opposition and won the following elections held in 1989. He returned as prime minister but was defeated again in 1993. His party would return to power in August 1998, with Said Musa as prime minister and him as senior minister.

Price received many honors. In 1982, he became a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, was honored with the Order of the Caribbean Community by the Caribbean Community (Caricom), and became Belize’s “First National Hero” – the highest decoration in the country – on September 19, 2000, for his central role in the independence process. On that occasion, five postage stamps were created in his honor. He was also awarded the José Martí Medal, presented in Havana (Cuba) by Fidel Castro.

Content updated on 05/16/2017 13:58